Tech Talks vol.27 – Engineering Managers

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 50 countries!
In this installment, we spoke with two of our Engineering Managers.

Tell us about the team’s mission and role

Astrid:
We are in the same Merchant Service Product Division. Reporting to the Senior Manager, I’m in charge of five O2O-related (Online to Offline) teams while keeping an eye on the overall operation.
The mission of O2O is to direct users to purchases and transactions in physical stores using online tools such as PayPay Coupons, stamp cards, and flyers. Each team has several to a dozen members, and Manoj is one of the Engineering Managers that oversees two of these teams.

Manoj:
I am an Engineering Manager for two teams. One is the Stamp Card Team under Astrid—its mission is to encourage more merchants to use this service as a sales promotion tool. It is a cross-functional team with more than a dozen members.
The other Channels Team works together with members who are overseas. It manages the backend of the search and map features within the PayPay app and aims to provide further convenience and the best user experience.

Astrid:
We want our merchants to understand the benefit of having more customers visit their stores and make purchases through PayPay’s services. And we would like our users to feel like they are getting good deals through discounts and special offers by merchants via O2O products. If users can get a good cash back, it will lead to them using other PayPay services.

What are the responsibilities of the Engineering Manager in PayPay?

Astrid:
So the main responsibilities of the Engineering Manager are people management, project management, task management, and hiring.
If you break it down, people management takes up the most time since it is difficult to delegate to others. It accounts for about half the total workload. Next is project management. This is what EMs are best at, and while we can ask other team members for help, it still takes up much of our time. I would say about 20-30%, including task management.

Manoj:
One thing I would add is growth management. It is also one of the most important tasks. By that I mean not only supporting the growth of team members, but also growing the product itself, in cooperation with business teams, product managers, and sales teams.
To this end, I try to act as an intermediary between my own department and other departments, making sure that we are all working toward the same goal.

What is the toughest thing about being an Engineering Manager?

Astrid:
It is difficult to find a good balance between the demands of the business and the health and growth of the department.
There are times when we should accept that we are at the peak of our productivity, or other times when it is beneficial to take on some additional load. PayPay in particular is a company that is constantly changing and moving at a fast pace, so we have a tight schedule that can be overwhelming for everyone, hence the dilemma.

Manoj:
One of the biggest challenges for me is to get all stakeholders of projects on the same page. As we carry out projects with specialists from different fields—backend, frontend, QA, etc.— communication conflicts can arise and we have to bridge the communication gap.
So, I always discuss with the entire team to ensure that everyone participates in the decision-making. We also try to create an environment where communication is always easy by having a time dedicated for team discussions & gathering at the office once every two weeks for team building.

What are some of the challenges unique to managing teams remotely and how did you work around them?

Manoj:
Managing in a remote environment is very difficult to be honest. We don’t always have immediate access to our members, you need to have trust in your colleagues to make it work.
The most important aspect of remote management is to stay approachable. If you do that, you can communicate without worrying about the physical distance.

Astrid:
It is more demanding to close the psychological distance when telecommuting. Even if your members are not in front of you, you must be respectful and consider the effect you have on others.
Remote management can be a challenge, but remote work itself is practical. While , Depending on how you do it, I think you can be as productive or even more productive than if you were at the office while improving flexibility and work-life balance.

Manoj:
As a creative way to get to know each other, one of my team members posts a meme every morning. It’s a little ritual to lift our spirits in the morning. There are also bonus memes on Fridays, which can get quite entertaining.

What do you value most in management?

Manoj:
For me, decision-making capabilities are at the top. That’s because the Engineering Manager’s decisions affect the product, the members, and the company’s reputation. So the manager has to consider all pros, cons, most critical parts, and anything and everything. Also, it’s not enough to merely make a decision; we must also have the foresight to know how the decision will be understood or whether it would be accepted.

Astrid:
Trust is the most important for me. Because without it, a team cannot achieve results, grow, or succeed. However, it is very difficult to foster trust, and even more so to restore it.
It is important to be open, share as much as possible, be transparent, and to relay information to build trust with our team members.

Future challenges and visions

Astrid:
I do have many challenges I want to take on, but first, we will continue to improve the quality of our service, predictability of delivery, and stability. For that, we also set KPIs to measure and improve our performance. I would also like to work more on educating and training engineers and managers.

Manoj:
I will continue to support my team, their growth, and provide the guidance that they need. And as technology progresses, it’s normal to lose track of the latest practices in the tech industry. I would like to help the team and myself to keep track of new changes and apply them to our services. That I believe is my mission. I would also like to continue to contribute to build a unique team culture.

Message for potential candidates

Astrid:
PayPay is rapidly growing, and its systems are becoming more complex as our teams and processes expand. This broad scope of responsibility is what makes PayPay’s EM work both challenging and exciting.
If you are interested in taking on demanding projects, trying something new, learning from your mistakes, working with great colleagues, and nurturing talented engineers, we would love for you to be part of PayPay.

Manoj:
The scalability of the product and the ability to monitor everything and see the impact of the decisions you make is a fascinating experience for EMs. If you want to grow as an Engineering Manager, PayPay is the perfect place for you.
PayPay has a culture that values communication and requires rigorous ownership on the part of the Engineering Managers. I would love to work with anyone who enjoys a challenge!

*Recruitment status and employee affiliations are correct at the time of the interview.