Technical Program Manager (TPM), Sole Proprietor Development Division, Tokyo

Overview

In 2021, Money Forward announced our "Englishnization Initiative" to fully transition the entire engineering organization into an English-first environment by the end of November 2024.

By FY24, the engineering team successfully completed its Englishization initiative, with approximately 94% of engineers achieving Stage 4 proficiency (TOEIC 700 and PROGOS B1). The proportion of non-Japanese engineers based in Japan has also exceeded 40%, reflecting steady progress toward a more global team environment.

However, Englishization has not yet been adopted across the business side. This gap has created communication challenges between business team members (PdM, CS, Designers) and the engineering team, which comprises both Japanese and non-Japanese engineers. While the Product Management Office (PMO) is exploring solutions—such as hiring non-Japanese or bilingual PdMs—the engineering team proposes an additional measure: the introduction of a Technical Program Manager (TPM) role.

In the SMB Development Department, we seek to onboard a bilingual TPM to serve as a bridge between development teams and stakeholders, ensuring clear communication, effective product requirement management, and successful product delivery. The TPM will also participate in hands-on initiatives to enhance development efficiency and boost team productivity.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Clearly interpret and convey product goals and business requirements to the development team, ensuring deliverables consistently meet expectations.
• Act as a seamless and dependable liaison between stakeholders and the development team, adeptly translating, organizing, and disseminating critical information.
• Lead efficient, outcome-focused meetings, offering interpretation support as required.
• Facilitate effective task coordination and prioritization across teams to align with strategic product objectives.
• Proactively identify risks and dependencies, partnering with key team members to devise robust mitigation strategies.
• Foster alignment and collaboration among stakeholders to drive seamless development progress.
• Diagnose team challenges and propose actionable solutions to optimize workflows and communication.
• Enhance collaboration with interdependent teams to elevate overall operational efficiency.

Required Skills and Experience

• At least 3 years of experience in a product development environment.
  • Minimum one year experience in technical disciplines, including coding, system design, and testing.
• Proven experience in Agile teams, ideally as a Product Owner or in comparable roles such as Business Analyst or Product Manager, with responsibility for scope management.
• Exceptional collaboration skills to unite cross-functional teams and stakeholders, ensuring shared alignment on objectives and priorities.
• Strong ability to interpret business needs and translate them into actionable, results-driven development plans.
• Outstanding adaptability and learning agility to remain synchronized with evolving development initiatives.
• Expertise in managing dependencies and orchestrating coordination across products or services to deliver seamless integration and outcomes.
• 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)

Language Requirements

• Japanese：Business Level 
• English：Business Level

Work 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: We provide PCs equipped with the latest CPUs (MacOS or Windows). Custom-made PCs tailored to business requirements and replacements with the latest OS are also possible.
• Systems to Enhance the Development Environment: Peripheral devices necessary for work (such as displays, mice, keyboards) can be purchased as office supplies. Generally, you can choose from standard products (catalog), and if conditions are met, you can apply for non-standard products as well.
• Money Forward Library: We have a library system where you can freely borrow books, ranging from technical books to management books. Desired books can be purchased at the company's expense.
• Referral Driven: We cover the cost of recruitment meals. There is a referral reward system.
• Conference Participation Support: The company partially covers participation in domestic and international conferences, such as RubyKaigi and Google I/O."