Farewell, Japan Computer Vision!
(EN/JA/ZH) Last week was my last working day at Japan Computer Vision (JCV), a Softbank subsidiary that develops facial recognition AI products. I joined in July 2022, exactly one year ago.
Japan Computer Vision is a subsidiary of Softbank Group.
Life at JCV
What I did
As the first and only Security Engineer within the product team, I mostly worked on building application security processes including the security testing flow and integration of SAST/DAST into the development pipeline, as well as performing penetration testing of web, mobile, API, and IoT products.
Softbank headquarters
Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba, the home of Softbank Group.
I mostly worked full-remote and rarely went to the office, but the office is located at the Softbank headquarters in Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba. It’s a stylish and new office building that has lush greenery outside, high-tech cleaning robots inside, panoramic ocean views, and everything from restaurants to convenience stores throughout the building!
A Security robot wanders the halls for surveillance.
Cleaning robots at rest. They are mostly only active during non-business hours, in order to avoid getting in people’s ways.
I personally really enjoyed the Softbank cafeteria (for some reason, it’s nicknamed “Cafeshiba”) and often went there whenever I went to the office. Most people seemed to order the Japanese items like curry, udon, etc. but I always ordered the melted cheese sandwich from the cafe! They even have a good assortment of sweets, so it was my favorite place.
My favorite meal at the Softbank cafeteria!
Of course, I also sometimes worked there because it is decently quiet during off-peak times, and the ocean view is stunning.
The stunning view of Tokyo Bay from the cafeteria.
The food at the cafeteria is not free, but still fairly cheap (around 500yen can get you a meal).
Memories
Working in a trilingual background
For me, the most interesting thing about working at JCV is that the work environment uses three languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese!
Since I don’t see myself working in China or Taiwan in the future, this may be my first and last time using Mandarin Chinese at work so it was quite the experience. I initially struggled to keep up (and honestly, still do…), but listening to technical discussions in Chinese and reading Slack channels fully written in Chinese has helped me improve so much. I even passed HSK6 earlier this year so I’m really thankful that I had the opportunity to work in such a diverse environment!
I only barely passed HSK6 but without the help of my colleagues, I definitely would not have passed at all.
Of course, not every person is fluent in all three languages. Some can only speak one, some can speak 1.5, and some are indeed completely fluent in all three. I myself am only fluent in English and am still learning Chinese and Japanese, so I felt nothing but deep respect towards colleagues who are fully-fluent in all three.
Playing with facial recognition devices
Dear Readers, how many of you have seen this device around Japan?
JCV’s SenseThunder thermal camera was a common sight at shopping centers, movie theaters, and restaurants all across Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One really fun aspect of working at JCV is that I was able to work on this, along with other facial recognition products that can be seen around Japan so I felt like my work was visible and making a difference in society. Every time I passed by one of these devices in the public, I had to hold back the urge to tell people, “Look, my company made this! I did the security work for it!”
Enjoying WeWork life
Personally, my favorite benefit at JCV is that employees are allowed to use any WeWork location. Working at home can get boring, and sometimes I had plans after work so it was much more convenient to work from more central areas of Tokyo like Shinjuku or Shibuya. At those times, I made reservations at other WeWork locations.
In my time at JCV, I actually went to quite a few WeWork locations in Tokyo and Yokohama, and even to one location in Osaka!
A few WeWork locations I went to (non-exhaustive list).
Being able to work from anywhere while enjoying the free coffee/tea and quiet, clean, and comfortable working spaces was seriously awesome, and it is a perk that I will really miss.
In addition to free coffee and tea, WeWork also has free beer taps, self-checkout snack shops, break rooms, beautiful and clean washrooms, and even changing rooms with makeup mirrors!
Why I left
The two reasons I told the team are the following:
1) Career growth: As the sole Security Engineer at JCV, I gained lots of hands-on experience in building security processes and penetration testing throughout this past year. It led me to think about the next step in my career and unfortunately, I did not see myself being able to achieve my career goals by staying at JCV. At the same time, a suitable opportunity unexpectedly came to me, so I took it.
2) Culture misfit: As many people know, Mercari (my previous company) has a very distinctive culture where engineers don’t only spend their time on product development. Many (if not most) employees are actively-involved in the local tech scene through attending and presenting at tech conferences, holding meetup events, and giving back to the community by sharing knowledge through tech blogs or open-source software. Many teams even have rules where they are allowed to spend a portion of work time on research or personal development through taking training courses or certifications. Perhaps I have grown too fond of this type of company culture; it was difficult for me to adapt and I couldn’t find motivation through only working on tasks related to the next product release– I wanted something more. Unfortunately, JCV is still a young startup so it was unable to offer the kind of culture that I am looking for.
Moving forward
For the remainder of the summer, I will go back to Canada to spend some time with my friends and family! During this period, I will also spend time studying security and certifications, and also preparing for my next role.
At this moment, I will not reveal where my next role is or what I will be doing, but it is a bit different from what I have done so far, so I will study hard to make sure that I can hit the ground running! Please look forward to my next blog post where I will talk more about my new role.
It was a short time at JCV but it definitely feels like more than a year has passed because I learned so much about startup life, cybersecurity, and myself and my own career goals. It was a great experience so thank you for everything, JCV!
I wish the team all the best and look forward to seeing their AI products around!