Ikuko Hiraga

Please introduce yourself.

My name is Ikuko Hiraga, and I joined LINE as a new graduate in 2020. I work as a server-side engineer for "LINE Gift." During my undergraduate studies, I majored in Information Science in the Faculty of Science, where I learned the basics of mathematics and programming. In graduate school, I used the programming language Fortran to conduct research on fluid dynamics simulations. Additionally, I developed apps as part-time jobs and personal projects.

When it was time to decide my career path, I was torn between a company related to my research and a web development company. I was attracted to app development because "you can immediately see how it benefits society" and "you can receive direct feedback from users." Ultimately, I chose to join a web development company. Seeing users use the apps I developed during my personal projects significantly raised my motivation.

There were several factors I prioritized during my job search. First, I wanted to work on large-scale apps. I wanted to be involved in the development and operation of apps that I could only work on as part of a company, not individually. Also, I wanted to create apps that could enrich people's lives. LINE met all these criteria.

Before joining the company, I worked as an intern on the iOS app for "LINE LIVE" (which ended service in March 2023). When I became a full-time employee, I continued to work on "LINE LIVE" while transitioning to a server-side engineer.

At that time, server-side engineers in my department were short-staffed, and my supervisor suggested, " I know you have no experience, but why not try server-side development?" Although I was initially hired as an iOS engineer, I learned about server-side engineering during the training period after joining as a new graduate and became a server-side engineer without any prior practical experience. It was an unusual case, but I found the environment that encouraged such challenges very appealing. I worked on the development of "LINE LIVE" for about three years and transferred to the "LINE Gift" development team in March 2023.

Could you please describe your main responsibilities and the specific workflow you follow?

I am responsible for the server-side development of features based on the improvement proposals made by the planning team. Currently (at the time of the interview), I am working on updating the Web API in line with the redesign of the top page for "LINE Gift."

At "LINE Gift," we are developing a top page that allows users to easily find the gifts they want to give. This aims to solve the common problem of "not knowing what to choose for the recipient," making it possible to select and send gifts that are suitable for any relationship.

"LINE Gift" uses Scrum and is organized into small, cross-functional teams. Each team has three roles: server-side engineers, front-end engineers, and QA engineers. We proceed with projects on a team basis.

Example of a Daily Schedule

• 10:00 AM

  Arrive at the office and start work. Development tasks.

• 12:00 PM

  Daily meeting.

• 1:00 PM

  Lunch break.

• 2:00 PM

  Pair programming.

• 3:00 PM

  Planning and development meeting.

• 4:00 PM

  Continue development tasks.

• 7:00 PM

  End of workday, leave the office.

In terms of daily workflow, we hold a daily Scrum meeting where we share what we have carried out until the day before and what we do today. Besides this, we spend about 1 to 2 hours a day in meetings, including overall progress reports for the department and engineering discussions.

I also engage in pair programming with other engineers, work with new graduate members, or focus on design and implementation tasks on my own.

What do you focus on when working?

One of the key characteristics of the services we handle is the "extremely large user base." For example, when I was working on "LINE LIVE," there would be a sudden surge in access whenever a celebrity started streaming. Similarly, for "LINE Gift," there can be a massive amount of access when a campaign starts.

So, it is crucial to design systems that can handle large-scale access and a large amount of data without issues. What is more, it is essential to appropriately handle any errors that may occur. I put a lot of effort into considering these factors myself, and I often receive feedback on these points during source code reviews. Through these experiences, I have developed skills to create better designs and implementations as an engineer.

Could you share any interesting or challenging experiences you've had while working?

In the last year of "LINE LIVE," I was responsible for the account deletion feature. "LINE LIVE" had around 300 database tables, so I had to start by identifying "which database tables are related to account information and what dependencies exist among them."

After identifying the roles and relationships of these tables thoroughly, I spent nearly six months diligently investigating "which table records should be deleted and which should be retained."

In addition to the investigation, there were many considerations in the design and implementation phases as well. For example, if a heavy user who had performed many active actions in "LINE LIVE" decided to delete their account, nearly one million records could be deleted from the database, even if it was just one account. If the deletion process was implemented without considering performance, it could result in long table locks, leading to disruptions in the entire application.

Therefore, designing a system that gradually deletes data over a certain period is crucial. Additionally, since the work involved handling user-related data, I had to learn about personal information protection laws. There were many factors to consider, and the project spanned a long period, but I believe my skills were honed through this project.

Other than that, I improved my ability to explain complex issues through my work. During a performance review, I received feedback from my supervisor and team members that "you have some difficulty explaining complex matters to others." Since then, I have been consciously thinking about "what should I do to make it easier to understand for others" in my daily work. Whether speaking verbally or compiling documents, I have prioritized "clarity." I believe my communication skills have improved afterwords.

What do you feel glad about after joining the company?

"LINE" is widely used by people of all ages. This means that with "LINE Gift," not only can people of my generation enjoy sending gifts, but also parents, relatives, children, and a wide range of people can enjoy it as well. For someone like me, who originally chose the path of app development because I was attracted to the fact that "You can immediately see how it benefits society" and "We can receive direct feedback from users," that promote my motivation to be involved in roles.

What are your expectations and things you are looking forward to at LY Corp in the future?

I expect we can effectively utilize the assets of each company to provide even better services to our users by promoting initiatives that integrate Yahoo's services with LINE's systems and vice versa.

"LINE Gift" is already integrated with "Yahoo! Shopping" for inventory management and order data coordination now (at the time of the interview). I believe that as both products continue to integrate, they will become even more attractive to users.

When I transferred from "LINE LIVE" to "LINE Gift," I was quite worried about whether I would be able to develop products effectively. But, I found that I could understand the code for "LINE Gift" much better than I had anticipated, and I am proud of how much further I have grown over the past three years. Plus, I have been able to further enhance my skills by learning the culture of "LINE Gift,". Now, I am looking forward to learning the culture of Yahoo and Z Holdings, which I believe will help me grow even more.

What are your future goals?

When I oversaw "LINE LIVE," I deeply learned about "better table design" and "handling data in compliance with personal information protection laws," and I want to apply this knowledge to "LINE Gift" as well.

In the future, I am also interested in taking on management roles. To do that, I need a certain level of technical skills and project management abilities. My immediate goal is to fully commit to the current projects and brush up my skills.(As of October 2023, I become a manager.)

I have been more driven by the desire to "deliver better products to users" than by the desire to "tackle challenging technical issues as an engineer." since I was a student. I see programming as one of the means to achieve my goal. Even if I take on a management role, I aim to create an environment where talented team members can thrive and where excellent products can be developed. I genuinely love programming, so I continue improving my technical skills to contribute to better products from an engineering standpoint.

Please tell us your final message.

I want to tell those who wish to join the company that LY Corp is a great environment where you can grow significantly as an engineer. Even young members are entrusted with important features that impact the entire app. For example, I learned a lot when I was responsible for the account deletion feature as a young engineer, although it was a challenging project.

Of course, supervisors and colleagues are always very supportive, and our company encourages open communication. It's an environment where you can enjoy working on what you want to do and delivering value to society. While you can develop apps individually, creating something substantial takes more than just one person's effort. If you want to experience the joy of collaborating with talented colleagues to create apps used by many people, come join us at LY Corporation.

• Engineer
• New Graduate