We started our engineering career at Susten. Mikako & Jocelyn's first year with the company in search of growth.
Susten is a diverse team with the common goal of creating an investment and asset management service that can be recommended to family and friends, regardless of age, gender, or nationality. A great example of diversity at Susten is the in-house platform development team (GISP), which conducts entirely in English and has members from all over the world.
In this interview, we delve into the experiences of two young professionals, Mikako and Jocelyn, who made their engineering debut in the GISP team in 2022.
The two share their firsthand experiences and explore the growth they have achieved within the GISP team.
Mikako
Originally from an art and design background with a focus on architecture. I transitioned to software engineering after discovering that I had a passion for problem solving and engineering.
Jocelyn
Earned my bachelor's degree in Psychology, where I delved into human behavior and statistics. I went to the UK to pursue a degree in Computer Science, focusing on machine learning. I decided to work in Japan because of its fascinating food and culture.
Why we joined Susten
— You both have been with the company for about a year now. The memories of your pre-joining days are probably still fresh. Could you please share a bit about your background before joining the company?
Mikako: Susten is my first full-time job. When I was a student, I studied design with an emphasis in architecture. However, while in school, my interest in programming grew, leading me to teach myself the skills alongside my formal studies. After graduation, I decided to pursue a career as a full-fledged engineer, so I participated in an engineering boot camp where I received hands-on training, which led me to join Susten.
Jocelyn: I worked for 2 years at an NGO in Tokyo and Susten is my first career as an engineer. That is the same as Mikako. In my case, I started studying programming on my own while I was working full time, and that is when I realized how interesting programming is.
After leaving the NGO, I joined a boot camp and studied computer science at a British university for a year. I then joined Susten.
— As individuals aiming for a career in engineering, why did you choose Susten?
Mikako: There were three factors I considered when choosing a company. The first of which was an international team where I could use English. Second was an open-minded and flexible environment where I could make decisions and grow as an engineer. Third was an opportunity to collaborate with and learn from great engineers. With these factors in mind, Susten seemed like a great choice.
Jocelyn: I can relate to that. I wanted an environment where I could use English in my work. Also, I was immediately drawn to Susten's goal of “Realizing a sustainable society where everyone can live with peace of mind.” This inspiring vision is very unique in the financial industry.
During the interviewing process, I felt the team members' love for Susten, which was a deciding factor in my decision to join the company.
Okano-san (CEO) and Yamaguchi-san (CIO) were also passionate about the product and company’s goals, which influenced my decision. I thought, "I want to work with these people. "
Mikako: I felt the same way during the hiring process. I was also attracted by the flexible working hours and hybrid work style (coming to the office twice a week), as I thought it was an environment where I could concentrate on development tasks as an engineer part of the week, and focus on in-person team collaboration the rest of the week.
Jocelyn: I can very much relate to that. It is very attractive to be able to work in a way that suits us.
Mikako: By the way, Jocelyn, did you take all of your employment interviews in English?
Jocelyn: Yes I did. How did it go for you?
Mikako: I spoke with the GISP team engineers in English, and spoke with Yamaguchi-san in Japanese. During the interview with Yamaguchi-san, I asked him how SUSTEN's operational type diagnosis works, and he said, "I can't answer that because it's a company secret."
Jocelyn: That's interesting.
Mikako: I was momentarily confused, but he laughed and said, "Just kidding." I thought he was a friendly person, and it relieved some of the interview tension when he joked during the interview.
— So, you felt that kind of atmosphere during the interview, and it made you feel like it was a good fit.
Looking back on the first year at Susten together
— As colleagues who joined at the same time, what were your honest impressions of each other and the team when you first joined the company?
Jocelyn: Through the interviews, I felt that everyone on the team was friendly, but I was still concerned about whether I would fit in. Many of the employees were mature and calm, and perhaps I was especially nervous on the first day, which made me feel even more so. I didn’t talk much to the team members at first.
Mikako: I also joined Susten only two weeks before you did. I think we were both still new to the GISP team and felt a bit shy.
Jocelyn: I was so nervous and flustered on the first day that I ended up not being able to talk to everyone very much, but the next day they gave me a welcome lunch and I was relieved to find out once again that everyone was wonderful.
Mikako: Yeah, some of our team members have families, which gave me the impression that our work culture isn't so much about “Let's go drinking after work”. Instead, it’s more focused on a balanced lifestyle. It also gave me the impression of a more mature and calm atmosphere within the team.
We have meetings every Wednesday and Thursday, and often go out for lunch together as a team. In meetings, everyone is encouraged to share their opinions regardless of their experience. I think this keeps our team culture flat and respectful.
Jocelyn: I found the team to be well balanced, with an on/off switch during breaks and at work. The senior members were also eager to teach, so anytime I asked them, they were always kind and attentive, and this helped me to gradually ease my anxiety and nervousness and get used to the team.
— Please share your thoughts on the tasks and experiences in the GISP team.
Mikako: The name "GISP" stands for Global Investment Strategies Platform. Our team's primary responsibility is to develop this platform, mainly used by traders, portfolio managers, and other professionals in Investment Management Division.
We regularly receive requests from members of other teams to add or enhance functionalities, so we're constantly working together with other teams. Each member of our team is a full-stack engineer.
Since I really enjoy working on both front-end and back-end development, as well as infrastructure, this experience has been very valuable to me over the past year.
Jocelyn: I didn't know which one I liked or excelled at because I was still so young in my career, so this position was appealing to me as a full-stack developer with a wide range of experience.
We are a very small team, so even though I was inexperienced, there were situations where I was responsible for tasks. I sometimes felt insecure, but that experience accelerated my growth even more.
Mikako: Agree. It was challenging for me to grasp the codebase initially, too. Shortly after I joined the company, I was put in charge of a project to build a data pipeline. At the time, my knowledge of infrastructure development was limited, so I was somewhat intimidated. I remember there was a lot of trial and error to get it done, with the help of the senior members. Today, it would be a more straightforward task for me, so it’s kind of a reminder of how much I have grown.
Jocelyn: What I remember is that I had to deal with a problem by myself when I was still inexperienced. Usually, when an error or bug occurs, I ask a senior member to help me deal with it, but at that time, I was desperate to do my best to get as far as I could on my own. In the end, I was relieved when I managed to finish dealing with the problem.
Mikako: I can relate very much. I was nervous too, but I think we gradually realized that we could tackle the problems better if we took our time to think and approached them calmly. We were able to grow by repeatedly overcoming tasks and challenges one by one.
Jocelyn: That's right. It gave me a sense of accomplishment and growth.
At first it took me a long time to figure out how to code a new feature. Now I can think and decide what to do for more complex problems by myself.
Mikako: I remember spending the first six months or so learning the fundamentals. After that, I was assigned as the lead member of a project, where I learned soft skills like communicating with other teams and managing deadlines. These experiences were very valuable for my growth as an engineer.
Current status of growth and what lies ahead
— Could you share the tasks you are currently handling, and how you both envision your growth in the future?
Jocelyn: Susten has launched a new fund with a "Family Fund" (in Japanese) structure, which is different from our previous funds. I am working on the system development for this project. As for the future, in order to provide better services to users, I would like to grow my technical skills as an engineer, learn more about finance, and come up with creative ideas.
Mikako: I’m in charge of a project which integrates external services into the Susten-side internal platform. This allows us to onboard distributors as customers for our funds. As the project lead, I’m looking forward to the technical challenges ahead, as well as further developing my soft skills.
Recently, we've welcomed a new team member, which has given me the opportunity to work as a mentor in addition to my other roles. It has been a very fulfilling experience.
— One last question, who do you think would be a good fit for the GISP team?
Jocelyn: Since GISP is a team that creates internal systems, there are often changes in requests and what we create. Flexibility to respond quickly to these changes is especially important.
Mikako: Flexibility and agility are definitely great skills to have in a small team like ours. Additionally, someone who is proactive and has a strong desire to grow and communicate with other members would be a great fit for our team.
・Written by Yasuyuki Kitahara
・Director of Photography Masaki Kohori
・Edited by susten
