Senior Backend Engineer (Java/Kotlin) at Money Forward HOME

Mission of Money Forward

At Money Forward, we have infused the values we’ve cherished since our founding into our mission. Please take a moment to check out our Mission, Vision, and Values.

About Money Forward Home

Money Forward Home Co., Ltd. was established as a joint venture between Money Forward, Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd., and began its joint business on December 2, 2024. We aim to solve more customers' financial issues by integrating and maximizing the value of various personal financial services provided by Money Forward with cutting-edge cashless services based on digital technology offered by Sumitomo Mitsui Card and comprehensive financial services for individuals called 'Olive' provided by the SMBC Group.

About Money Forward Home

The main service of Money Forward Home Co., Ltd., "Money Forward ME," is a household budgeting and asset management app that ranks No. 1 in usage and recognition (※1). It has steadily grown, with a cumulative user base of 16.1 million and 597,000 paying users. The core functionality of "Money Forward ME" is built on aggregation technology, which automatically retrieves data such as balances and transaction histories by linking with accounts from banks, credit cards, and securities. The service is created based on data obtained through this aggregation and data manually entered by users.

About Money Forward ME

※1: Research commissioned to: Macromill, Inc. / Survey target and number of respondents: 1,034 users of household budgeting apps aged 20-60, 1,034 users of asset management apps aged 20-60 / Survey period: Household budgeting apps from August 13, 2024, to August 14, 2024, asset management apps from August 13, 2024, to August 16, 2024 / Survey method: Internet research / Household budgeting apps refer to apps that allow users to manage their household budgets using smartphones or tablets. Asset management apps refer to apps that allow users to centrally manage multiple assets using smartphones or tablets.

*This position is employed by Money Forward, Inc. and seconded to Money Forward Home Co., Ltd., with evaluation systems and benefits aligned with Money Forward.

Overview

"Money Forward ME," the founding product of Money Forward, has become more complex in both system and specifications over its long history, increasing the difficulty of service maintenance and operation each year. Meanwhile, we have established a joint venture to provide new financial services and are transitioning the development and operation to the new company, moving to the next growth stage.

In this period of transformation, pursuing the essential value for users and developing without slowing down requires aligning the directions of business, product, and system, maintaining a balance between defense and offense in development capabilities.

Currently, the development team is globalizing and communication among engineers is shifting towards English. Additionally, members from overseas branches like Money Forward Vietnam are participating in development. On the other hand, there is frequent communication in Japanese with product managers, designers, customer support members, and other roles, necessitating not only technical skills but also communication skills and the ability to identify issues to enhance the team's overall strength.

We are looking for individuals who can enjoy not only the growth of the product but also the growth of the team and themselves in such a challenging environment, and who can lead product development as a team leader!

Main Responsibilities

You will be responsible for the backend development of the personal budgeting service "Money Forward ME." As a core member of the project transitioning the current Ruby on Rails infrastructure to Kotlin, you will lead or handle the design and implementation of new backend services using Kotlin.

Once the Kotlin system is operational, your role will not only involve progressing the phased transition but also collaborating with multiple teams and professions to enhance the overall service experience. You will work closely with product managers, designers, application engineers, and engineers responsible for other microservices, engaging from the planning and specification stages. Your input will be required not only from a technical perspective but also in making decisions and proposals that consider the product as a whole.

In addition to ease of use, your designs and implementations should focus on performance, maintainability, and future scalability. You are also expected to proactively identify and improve existing system and team challenges to enhance development productivity and product quality.

As a potential leader, you will have the opportunity to lead the team as needed and be involved in decision-making regarding both technical and project aspects.

Required Skills and Experience

• 3+ years of experience in developing and operating web applications as a team, regardless of language
• Experience in designing, developing, and operating web applications using Java or Kotlin
• Experience leading development teams or projects
• Experience working within a Japanese cultural environment

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience in designing, developing, and operating web applications using Ruby on Rails
  Systematic knowledge and understanding of architecture and design
• Experience in designing and developing microservices, or implementation and collaboration experience on the user side of microservices
• Experience in development using modern frontend technologies
• Experience in system development and maintenance on cloud infrastructure (e.g., AWS)
• Experience in development in a global team, especially working with Japanese cultural members
• Experience in people management, including evaluation and development of team members
• Experience in AI development and/or experience in using AI tools to improve development processes.
  Money Forward recently announced our AI Strategy roadmap which focuses on improving AI-driven operational efficiencies, as well as integrating AI agents into our products to deliver better value to our users. (More information here)

Technical Stack

• Languages/Frameworks: Kotlin, Java, Spring, Ruby, Ruby on Rails
• Job/Background Processing: Sidekiq, Kubernetes CronJob
• Code Management/CI/CD: GitHub, CircleCI, GitHub Actions, Argo CD
• Infrastructure/Database/IaC: AWS (EKS), Aurora MySQL (some on-premise MySQL), S3, ElastiCache, Terraform
• Monitoring/Error Tracking: Datadog, Rollbar
• Communication: Slack, Zoom

Environment

At Money Forward, we provide an environment where we can create world-class services together, and we are looking forward to welcoming you.

• Provided PC specs: Latest CPU-equipped PC (macOS or Windows). Customization and replacement to the latest OS are possible according to business requirements.
• System for improving the development environment: Necessary peripherals (display, mouse, keyboard, etc.) can be purchased as equipment. Generally, you can choose from standard catalog products, but non-catalog products can also be requested if conditions are met.
• Money Forward Library: A library system with free lending of books from technical to management books. Desired books can be purchased at company expense.
• Referral-driven: Support for meal expenses for referral recruitment and a reward system for referrers.
• Conference participation support: Partial company coverage for participation in domestic and international conferences such as RubyKaigi and Google I/O.

Language Skills Required

• Japanese: Business Level or higher (JLPT N2 Level)
  • Interviews will be conducted in Japanese
• English:
  •  Business Level (TOEIC 700+)

(Note: If you have other qualifications or experiences demonstrating English proficiency, such as EIKEN Pre-1, EIKEN 2nd Grade (CSE score 1950+), TOEFL iBT 60+, IELTS 5.0+, or Cambridge FCE.), feel free to discuss with us, 

For those without a TOEIC 700+ equivalent score, they will be asked to take a designated test during the interview process (generally after the first interview).