About Tech Talks
In this Tech Talks series, we will share with you the attitude and vibe of the PayPay Tech Team through the voices of the unique product members from around 40 countries! This time, Bobby Prabowo from the CoreApp Android team will share his story.
Bobby Prabowo
Android engineer
Hello Everyone! I am Bobby, Android engineer of CoreApp Payment Product Division. I joined PayPay in February 2022 and it is hard to believe that it has only been 10 months.
*The Japanese version of the article is also available here
What I am working on currently
Apart from the challenges of implementing features and bug fixes, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to be part of the Kotlin multiplatform implementation initiative for the Android Team. The tech stack is quite different from the tech that I am used to, including some new and trendy technologies—Ktor, SQLDelight, Coroutines, and Kotlin Serialization.
My typical daily schedule
I usually start the day with checking my personal backlog that I write on paper, which helps me get more organized. If I do not have any backlog, I would start checking the unmerged PRs that need a reviewer.
Before lunch, I always try to join the team sync-up meeting, to get informed about upcoming features and how the app teams (Android and iOS) are doing.
After the sync-up meeting, I focus on my main tasks like feature development until the end of day.
My career before joining PayPay
I first worked as a developer in one of the smartphone maker R&D institutes in Indonesia for over four years, tasked with building various mobile apps and backend services as an engineer. Then I joined various messaging service startups as an iOS developer and then became a mobile team manager in an EdTech company for more than four years.
Why I decide to join PayPay
I was looking for an opportunity to work abroad, especially in Japan, when I heard that PayPay was creating a client SDK for other services. That immediately got my attention, because it seemed that PayPay also had interest in public SDKs for third party services.
I saw this as an initiative that will allow for many possibilities. For example, if I were able to combine a door lock with a PayPay API or service, I could create a bed and breakfast or space rental service. This is something that I would like to see happen with PayPay.
A challenge that I experienced and overcame at PayPay
Migrating to Kotlin Multi Platform is a challenge that I am still working on. Currently, the Mobile Team is trying to migrate its business logic code from its own platform-specific code to a unified one, written in Kotlin, for both Android and iOS. Considering that the PayPay app has dozens of features that are stable, the transition itself is very challenging. Also, since the technology is quite new, the team is facing many challenges, such as memory leaks, thread access when the multiplatform code is called from iOS, and figuring out the proper architecture of the multiplatform code so it can be consumed properly by each platform.
Attractive points about working in PayPay
In my perspective, even though Japan is well known for its modern technology, it is a country also famous for preserving its traditional culture. It is not easy to change people’s lifestyle in Japan, but what PayPay does is try to break the cash culture with new technology and to create an impact in the society. This is why working on PayPay’s payment service is so fascinating for me. Besides, PayPay has a WFA (work from anywhere, anytime) policy, which allows me to see what life is like in Japan outside of Tokyo, such as in Kanazawa, where I live now. It is probably one of the most beautiful cities in Japan.
My future career plan
In the future, I hope to get a chance on building a payment service for IoT and small embedded devices. I am especially leaning towards small embedded devices.
Message to aspiring PayPay employees
Moving to a new country is very interesting. It will broaden your perspective on understanding a different culture, way of thinking, communication, and many more. Also, the policy of working fully remote in Japan enhances those experiences.
Current job openings
*The recruitment status is current at the time of the interview.
Author: Bobby Prabowo / Editorial Supervisor：Mune / Editor: Grace
*Employees’ affiliations are as of the time of the interview.
