Launched in 2018, PayPay has grown into a mobile payment service with 57 million users in Japan, half of the domestic smartphone user population. It has now become a diverse workforce, with engineers from roughly 50 different countries and regions. In this Pay2 Dev Speaks series, we give you the latest on the Pay2 Development Center (or Pay2DC), PayPay’s first overseas development center launched in October 2022, through the unique voices of our team there.
In this issue, we spoke with Eklavya, a backend engineer.
*Pay2 Development Center changed its name to PayPay India on May 30, 2024
Eklavya
Pay2 Development Center
Backend Engineer
Hello, my name is Eklavya! I joined Pay2DC in January 2023 as its first backend engineer. Pay2DC’s environment reflects great teamwork and learning culture. Everyday is a new challenge and I thoroughly enjoy working here.
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Why I Joined PayPay
I was searching for an innovative environment and a socially meaningful service
I have always been interested in the field of payment and FinTech. Since I had the desire to develop products that enrich people’s lives, I found PayPay’s work to be meaningful and fulfilling as a backend engineer where I am involved in designing and building a secure, reliable, and scalable payment system which is used by many people.
After thoroughly researching several companies, I came across Pay2DC. Discovering that PayPay is Japan’s top payment app and a leader in the FinTech field, I took great interest in PayPay’s commitment to using the latest technologies and best practices to provide excellent products and services! I was drawn to the opportunity to work with professional engineers who are passionate about innovation and technology.
Given that I wanted to explore my potential as an engineer, I was convinced that PayPay could provide the right fit environment that I was looking for.
What’s Great About Working at PayPay
You’re always surrounded by the latest technologies and opportunities for new challenges
Being able to develop PayPay’s high-quality products and services is an incredible experience for me as an engineer which has helped me grow both technically and as a person.
The gratifying part about working here is the emphasis on innovation and learning new tech. As engineers, it is worthwhile for us that we’re constantly exposed to new technologies, tools, and development methodologies, which has facilitated the enhancement of skills and catching up on the latest tech trends.
In terms of culture, our team values teamwork, cooperation, and personal growth, which I feel makes it very easy for us to take on new challenges and build up tons of knowledge and experience.
Teamwork and Communication
Communication as equals, cooperation as culture
We are on equal footing with each other, without much concern for hierarchy. It’s an environment of mutual understanding, in which we can talk about anything and everything and freely propose ideas.
Currently everyone comes to the office, and it’s nice to be able to freely communicate without having to block out schedules. We finish code reviews quite quickly, and if a need for discussion comes up, we can just gather in front of the whiteboard for a quick session. Working from home has its advantages, but when working with new colleagues, being together on-site makes it easy to absorb lots of new information in a short time.
We also hold fun events together such as group lunches, festival events and birthday parties! Just recently, we held a farewell party for a member who had come from Japan to work with us. Spending time together beyond work has helped us strengthen camaraderie among the team members, thus adding to the great work ethos.
At Pay2DC, both internal communication in India and external communication with the Japanese Development team has been seamless. With quick response time and cooperative attitudes, slack conversations have always been a smooth ride. The time difference of just 3.5 hours has never been a hindrance and team members in Japan have always been considerate of our working hours.
During my initial onboarding, Pay2DC site manager Mune-san said that Pay2DC is not an offshore development site, but rather an extension of the Japan-side development team. I’ve come to feel that’s completely right.
Our Team and Our Future
We will provide products that can be trusted by both our users and our colleagues. We are ready to take on more challenging projects!
We just wrapped up our first major project recently! It came with a lot of hardships, but we were able to pull it off with the help of other teams. The deadline we faced was quite tight, but we were able to break the project down into smaller milestones and monitor its progress, allowing us to complete things a little ahead of the schedule.
We gave particular attention to thorough testing before the launch. PayPay is a service that handles a lot of sensitive information, and above all, user trust comes first, so we created test scenarios covering every possible situation. Each one of us took ownership and supported one another, and I think our teamwork pushed the project forward.
As a backend engineer, I aspire to continue optimizing the codebase and enhance our service’s performance. Being part of a new team, I look forward to taking the initiative in developing and refining our development processes. I aim to collaborate with the team to identify areas of improvement and boost productivity.
We want to develop into a team that is trusted by both senior management and other teams with even difficult projects and bigger challenges moving forward.
I aspire to provide support to newcomers in their journey with Pay2DC just as I received when I joined, so that they can explore their full potential and give their best.
A Message to Developers Across India
Enjoy your growth in our tightly knit team here at Pay2DC!
When I first joined the company, I didn’t know anything about PayPay’s services or my team members, but my mentor provided me with excellent support. I was worried about not being a native Japanese speaker, but those fears were unfounded and quickly vanished.
During onboarding, understanding the product was a smooth process, so I hardly ever felt lost in my work. Being part of a brand new team is a special experience, and I am thrilled to have joined!
Pay2DC is the perfect environment for growth-oriented people eager to take on new challenges. Our current team is full of hardworking members longing for the next new undertaking. As our Core Philosophy (organizational management policy) states, we are able to work collaboratively on large-scale and cross-functional projects, which provide us many opportunities for growth. We hope you will join and grow together with us!
Special Thanks: Eklavya / Editor,Author: Moe
*Employees’ affiliations are as of the time of the interview.