New Graduate Positions at Mercari

At Mercari, we believe that in order for our business and organization to make giant leaps, it’s necessary to throw open our door not just to experienced professionals, but also to the next generation of talent.
We introduce New Graduates positions at Mercari.

Transcript

1. New Graduate Positions at Mercari
2. About Mercari
3. Japan Region Mercari Group Fintech 3 Mercari Group is made up of Mercari, Inc., and its consolidated subsidiaries. Marketplace Mercari, Inc. Established Activities Locations Offices Representative Representative of Mercari JP February 1, 2013 Planning, development, and operation of the Mercari marketplace app Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-6118, Japan Tokyo, Sendai, Fukuoka Shintaro Yamada Jeff LeBeau 1. January 28, 2021 2. Planning, development, and management of internet services 3. Yuki Ishikawa Souzoh, Inc. 1. November 20, 2017 2. Financial-related businesses 3. Masato Yamamoto Merpay, Inc. 1. January 2014 2. Planning, development, and operation of the US version of Mercari 3. John Lagerling 4. Palo Alto, CA Mercari, Inc. (US) 1. October 1, 1991 2. Management of a soccer club 3. Fumiaki Koizumi 4. Higashiyama 2887, Aō, Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan Kashima Antlers F.C. Co., Ltd. 1. June 2022 2. Development of internet services 3. Ken Wakasa (Managing Director) 4. Bangalore, Karnataka, India Mercari Software Technologies India Private Limited 1. April 28, 2021 2. Cryptoasset- and blockchain-related services 3. Naoki Aoyagi Mercoin, Inc. 1. Established, 2. Activities, 3. Representative, 4. Locations Company Overview
4. Group Mission 4
5. Go Bold - In order to achieve great success, we need to think outside the box and keep trying new things again and again. If we just do the same things as others, we can never innovate. Taking on bold challenges like this, we bring Mercari to new heights. - We don’t fear change; we proactively accept and incorporate new things through trial and error. - We commend failure as a step toward success. - We deep dive into where we have failed, document lessons learned, and share our findings, regardless of the result. In doing so, the whole organization can learn from what we have attempted in the past and use it to fuel new innovation. Values 5
6. All for One - We prioritize working toward our shared goal of achieving the mission as a team. This allows us to realize greater success than we can as individuals, even if it means going outside of our scope of expertise. - Each of us demonstrates a diverse set of strengths, trust, and respect for each other, and in doing so we are able to achieve extraordinary results together that would not be possible alone. - Those in positions of responsibility take ownership over making decisions in a timely manner. We commit to the final decision, even if we disagree with it. Values 6
7. Be a Pro - We all demonstrate strong expertise and abilities as a professional in our field, but we also hold ourselves to strong ethics and maintain responsible behavior. - We remain professional in discussions, giving our opinions and contributing in a constructive way. - We are always curious and ambitious; we continue to grow by learning and stretching ourselves in our work, overcoming difficulties along the way. - We are users of Mercari Group’s services, but also use other companies’ services, and leverage that experience to continuously contribute to improving our own services. We remain committed to take action as Mercari employees rather than simply giving criticism. Values 7
8. Sustainability Diversity & Inclusion Trust & Openness Well-being for Performance Mercari has three values that serve as guidelines for action toward achieving our mission. In order for members to demonstrate these values to the fullest, our organization needs a shared foundation. Foundations come from not just one specific individual consciously demonstrating the values, but from the organization as a whole embodying them and creating an atmosphere where the values are respected and observed. We believe a shared understanding among the organization allows for smoother communication and decision-making among its members. We believe that internalizing key approaches and mindsets—Sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion, Trust & Openness, and Well-being for Performance—will give rise to a shared company culture among individual members, make Mercari a stronger organization, and accelerate its business growth. Foundations 8
9. Positions
10. Mission Conduct UX research and gain insight by asking essential questions in order to create a fulfilling experience for our users and contribute to our business growth Role in Mercari’s products/organization As a UX Researcher, you will design and analyze research, including user interviews and usability tests, to guide Mercari in making optimal decisions to bring the service to new heights. You will collaborate with Product Designers, Product Managers, and other stakeholders across teams and companies within Mercari Group to take on the challenge of enhancing the user experience. You will focus on overseeing the situation with a neutral eye and contribute to growth of the service while incorporating the needs of both the product and users. Specific work responsibilities • Planning and driving research based on business management strategies and objectives • Carrying out investigations and analyses mainly through user interviews and usability tests • Carrying out investigations covering everything from strategy to requirements, information design, and UI • Creating and facilitating discussions • Creating UX research culture and mechanisms UX Researcher - Merpay
11. Messages from Members Being a UX Researcher is really exciting—through the research process, you get to meet many different users, set aside what you think of as “normal” and gain new perspectives, and use your findings to help the business develop. What is particularly interesting about working for Merpay is that, because we offer financial services, which play a large role in everyday life, the research topics that I look at are things very familiar to me, like how users view their money and consumption habits. Right now, Merpay has three researchers, and we all highly respect each other’s unique viewpoints.I’m looking forward to seeing what new viewpoints you’ll bring to our team through this internship! UX Researcher Yoko Toyoda There aren’t that many companies in Japan that hire UX Researchers, especially as new graduates, so I’m thrilled that Merpay is offering this internship opportunity. I hope that you’ll bring a new perspective to our team, the product, and the company as you join us in creating Merpay’s future. UX research is an interdisciplinary field supported by a number of different disciplines, including human factors engineering, design, and cultural anthropology. I think it would be a great fit for someone ready to learn about things outside of their expertise or job description and to put these ideas into practice. If you’re strongly interested in learning the art of UX research, driving Merpay’s unique businesses, and building trust for a seamless society, we’d love to have you! UX Researcher Miho Matsuzono
12. Why UX Research? 12 • As society becomes more diverse, it’s harder for creators to visualize who their users are ◦ As individuals, even people from the same demographic can have drastically different lifestyles from each other ◦ Even if we develop new technologies, trends could change only a few years later, or countless similar services could arise ◦ As society makes larger strides toward inclusion and diversity (I&D), we see more and more diversity in the backgrounds of those developing the product, and we are tasked with creating products that reflect that diversity while maintaining a common understanding • It’s crucial to have an environment that enables us to gain a deep understanding of our users as we create services ◦ Creating a new service involves a high level of uncertainty, so we need to understand our users’ needs in detail • We need to carefully test usability and the user experience before we release anything ◦ In particular, financial services like Merpay are expected to be reliable
13. Role of Merpay UX Researchers 13 • Plan and conduct research on projects that are important for our business objectives and have a high degree of uncertainty ◦ Additionally, conduct UX research regularly • Apply your expertise on qualitative and quantitative research throughout the organization ◦ Collaborate with other teams such as Product, Marketing, PR, BizDev, and HR ◦ Conduct interviews, usability tests, concept tests, and surveys • Leverage research results to create and facilitate discussions ◦ Design workshops for Mercari Group employees ◦ Create mechanisms and foster a culture where everyone focuses on our users
14. Mission Upgrade social infrastructure to be more convenient, and allow all services to be used simply and securely through a single platform Role in Mercari’s products/organization As a UX Designer, you will work to improve the user experience from both Product and Marketing angles in order to achieve “circular finance,” in which physical things, money, credit, and other forms of value circulate to encourage people to think and act more sustainably. We play an important role in creating the product, as we have to have broad perspectives and think metaphorically when creating objects to ensure the design is easy to understand for people who are introduced to Merpay through Mercari, not just existing Merpay or Mercoin users. Specific work responsibilities • Designing UX and UI to implement new features on the Mercari marketplace app • Promoting UX and UI design for Merpay and Mercoin, as well as creative design • Formulating specifications for both consumer services and business services • Development tools/environment: Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator (Adobe Creative Cloud tools), InVision, Sketch, GitHub, Slack, etc. / Mac UX Designer - Merpay
15. Main Responsibilities of the Product Design Team New feature development Growth after release Redesigns July 2020: Released money transfer feature March 2021: Released virtual card feature Improved UI/UX of payment method selection on the purchase screen Directing promotions Redesigning UI/UX to be more intuitive and seamless for users
16. Shared Mindset of All Designers SELL BUY +
 PAY An indispensable factor of the customer journey Consistent user experience The Mercari ecosystem offers a wide variety of user experiences, such as buying and selling items and making payments both inside the Mercari marketplace and at local merchant shops, all within the same app. Internally, these features are handled by different businesses, but we strive to provide a consistent experience across all aspects of the product so our users are able to seamlessly master everything we offer.
17. Designer Responsibilities Technology ◦ Identifying target segments (with UX Researchers) ◦ Creating customer journeys (with UX Researchers) ◦ Designing hypotheses and tests (with Product Manager positions) ◦ Designing prototypes for usability tests ◦ Creating structures (transition diagrams) for development ◦ Applying and expanding the existing design system Communication ◦ Giving explanations based on customer journeys ◦ Verbalizing requirement definitions necessary for UI implementation
18. Our Design System Mercari Group has its own unique design system to ensure consistent output from all Product Designers and significantly boost work efficiency.
19. Messages from Members In product design for Merpay and Mercoin, the process of collaborating with members in different positions to create experiences or value that we want to deliver to our users is really fascinating. In particular, I find it very valuable to have the opportunity to work with researchers to carefully research everything from the base concept to information design and wording/creatives and learn from our users to create designs. Another unique point about our team is that we have members of many different backgrounds, which enables us to combine our knowledge and experience to create new things. I learn new things from the designers around me and from our users every day. I can’t wait to learn from our users and create new things with you too! Product Designer Eriko Todoroki What I find fun about working at Merpay is being able to think outside the box to dynamically reshape the way that we view finance and create a seamless user experience. This is only possible because we have a diverse team with a variety of expertise analyzing the user experience from all possible angles and carving out new paths that no one’s ever gone down before. I think that adding your potential to the mix will accelerate this even further. For a diverse audience to use Merpay and Mercari’s services as social infrastructure, we need to take the findings we gain from user tests and carefully design and reflect them in the product. It’s really exciting to work closely with UX Researchers to make the product the best it can be. I’m looking forward to working with you to learn from our users and create a seamless Merpay experience! Product Designer Yuki Kojima
20. Mission Support important decisions regarding the direction of management and the business using data and become the “brain” of the organization that leads Mercari’s growth Role in Mercari’s products/organization Mercari’s Data Analytics Team uses data to support important decisions that influence the direction of management and the business, with the vision of becoming the “brain” of the organization that leads Mercari’s growth. In addition to helping to solve issues for the product or business, we work to democratize data to enhance the analytical abilities of the entire company. Our team members are professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds. In this position, you’ll be able to participate in open discussions and make bold proposals. You will also be able to take part in data analysis in a broad range of fields. Specific work responsibilities • Identifying and proposing opportunities to improve Mercari using data analysis • Maximizing the effects of marketing through data analysis Data Analyst - Mercari
21. Messages from Members Data Analysts at Mercari play a large role in important decision-making for the business. In addition to the buying and selling of items in many categories closely related to our users’ daily lives, Mercari’s data is expanding with every new business. We’re looking for people who enjoy the process of using a wide variety of behavioral and qualitative data to derive high-value analysis and linking that analysis to business actions that contribute to our success. Our team has many Data Analysts with strong expertise in areas like market research, effectiveness verification, and machine learning. It’s a great environment to learn new things from experts. We also have data infrastructure that makes it really easy to carry out analysis, as well as a team that will pull out all the stops to drive the business forward, so don’t be intimidated and just jump right in! Mercari is one of the rare companies that provides a Western flexible working space and an Eastern supportive environment. The working culture is encouraging, creative, and diverse. Here, you will work with global talent experts. As analysts at Mercari, we keep challenging ourselves to build professional technical skills. You can also improve your soft skills in management, multitasking, and cross-functional team communication. There are always opportunities for you to stand out. We are looking forward to you joining this big family and helping Mercari be a leading company in the industry. Data Analyst Nina Chen Data Analyst Yuta Mizukami
22. Messages from Members One thing that makes working at Mercari unique is that Data Analysts don’t just carry out analysis; we work with team members and see the project to the end. This is a great opportunity to have close discussions with specialists in many different areas, including product managers (PdMs) and engineers from all over the world, to identify strategies to improve the product and create real output. Mercari has a flat culture, which allows everyone—including new graduates—to make proposals and have them accepted. If you’re interested in working in an exciting environment where you’ll be able to contribute your opinions and ideas, we’d love to work with you! Data Analyst Kota Natsume I was drawn to Mercari by the prospect of working with tons of interesting data, and I wasn’t disappointed! There’s even more data—and in higher quality—than I expected, and it’s exciting working with it every day. Data Analysts at Mercari play the role of not just finding trends in this data, but determining how to leverage these finds in the service and business. Expectations are high, but you’ll have a great analytics environment and a highly specialized team to support you in your work. I look forward to working with you to make Mercari even better! Data Analyst Takahiro Nambu
23. Mission Build a global-standard corporate structure and support leadership by always having the best solutions Role in Mercari’s products/organization Mercari aims to build a global-standard corporate structure. In order to build a high-quality organizational structure, the Accounting Team involves various stakeholders within the company, such as leadership and other divisions, to drive projects forward and support decision-making. To do so, you will need both the ability to clarify unclear points and ask questions and the ability to communicate what issues you are working on, as well as the ability to independently and proactively think about the best actions to take as an Accounting Specialist and follow through on those actions. You will also have many opportunities to take part in operations outside of your area of responsibility, raise questions, and solve issues. Specific work responsibilities • Creating non-consolidated/consolidated financial statements • Discussing various accounting/tax topics • Radically improving and streamlining operations • Carrying out other accounting/tax-related work Accounting Specialist - Mercari
24. Messages from Members Some people say that the essence of accounting work is “information manufacturing.” I believe that the true value of accounting lies in providing useful information to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders, including leadership and investors. At Mercari, we launch new businesses one after another to work toward achieving our mission. Our Accounting Team handles more than just routine work like recording journal entries, reporting accounts each quarter, and creating disclosure documents; there’s plenty of work to be done from scratch to support new businesses from an accounting perspective. I think that it’s a great environment to experience accounting as information manufacturing. We look forward to working with you to support Mercari Group in achieving our mission through accounting. I hope to see you soon! Group Accounting Naoya Mizukoshi When you hear “Accounting Specialist,” you may envision the kind of conservative role you see at many companies. But at Mercari, we’re still building our corporate structure, so you can enjoy improving processes and creating new mechanisms yourself. As we launch more and more new businesses, the Accounting Team communicates with everyone from product leads and microservice engineers to our Legal Team to build business schemes and define requirements for accounting purposes. Working here will provide you with experience creating mechanisms for the sake of our services while balancing the kind of work expected of accounting at a listed company, which I think will be an asset in your accounting career you won’t be able to find anywhere else. I look forward to working with you to support Mercari Group’s growth through accounting. Group Accounting Soushi Tazoe
25. Mission Maximize the potential of all employees at Mercari Group by providing them with the best employee experience Role in Mercari’s product/organization The Corporate Products Team, part of the Corporate Engineering organization, plans, develops, and maintains in-house products optimized for Mercari employees to make the work environment at Mercari as comfortable as possible for its employees. By developing the products we use from scratch rather than using external services, we provide a seamless employee experience that instills Mercari’s unique culture throughout the organization. In this position, you will have the opportunity to apply the PDCA cycle using feedback from Mercari’s more than 2,000 employees (as of March 2023) of diverse backgrounds, enabling you to solve issues quickly and have a large impact on the organization. Specific work responsibilities • Planning, implementing, building, and improving internal systems used by Mercari Group ◦ Developing and maintaining Mercari’s performance evaluation system ◦ Developing and maintaining Mercari’s chat bot to improve work efficiency ◦ Developing and maintaining Mercari’s talent collaboration platform ◦ Other related tasks Corporate Engineering - Mercari
26. Messages from Members I think what makes the People Products Team unique is that we’re responsible for an entire product instead of just one of the many microservices that make up a larger product. This includes frontend, backend, and infrastructure. Each member of our team has a wide area of responsibility, which provides a lot of opportunities for growth as an engineer. All of my team members have their own strengths. I really enjoy working with my team to identify which important tasks each of us should be doing in our rapid PDCA cycle and develop products to help achieve our mission. I hope to take on new challenges with you to support Mercari’s growth and unique culture through products used all throughout Mercari Group! Software Engineer Tomoyuki Nishimura My team, the Accounting Products Team, handles the development and maintenance of Mercari’s accounting system. Unlike engineers working on the Mercari app, our main users are accounting specialists within the company. Due to the nature of accounting, the volume of data we handle is very large. Finding ways to achieve what we want to do (and what we need to do) efficiently and at a low cost is one of the most interesting parts about working on this team. At Mercari, we have multiple businesses progressing quickly, and since accounting system development plays an important role in driving the business, we have to constantly keep in mind the durability of the internal systems we support in our daily work. You won’t find many other teams out there that can give you this kind of experience; I think it’s a great place to take on challenges and grow as an engineer. I look forward to working with you to support Mercari Group’s growth through accounting system development. Software Engineer Ayane Takakura
27. Mission Unleash the value in stakeholders (other divisions, companies, products, users, etc.) and establish trust through All for One security and privacy Role in Mercari’s product/organization The Security Engineering Team at Mercari is responsible for dealing with a vast array of data, logs, and dependencies. As a member of the team, you will be able to employ cutting-edge and complex cloud infrastructure systems to help us tackle complex challenges. In the context of our rapidly growing number of organizations and services, it is extremely important for Mercari to introduce automation and reduce dependency on manual work as much as possible. In this position, you will have the opportunity to make a large impact by helping us build out our security systems and solve interesting business and organizational challenges in a fast-paced environment. Specific work responsibilities • In this position, you will perform security design and process reviews as well as develop and deploy security countermeasures and execute penetration tests. You will be involved in one of the following areas: ◦ Monitoring, log analysis, and log infrastructure development ◦ Penetration testing, threat modeling, and security automation ◦ Web and mobile application security testing ◦ Technical project management Security Engineer - Mercari
28. Messages from Members Security Engineer Simon Anna Security Engineer Ahmed Belkahla Ever since I joined Mercari, we’ve had the privilege of welcoming numerous talented interns to our Security Team. Their contributions have been invaluable, bringing fresh insights and perspectives that have greatly enhanced our work. I am confident that our upcoming graduates will follow in their footsteps. Within my team, Threat Detection and Response, we are faced with new and exciting challenges each and every day. The dynamic nature of our work ensures that you will never find yourself stuck in a monotonous routine. Instead, you can expect a stimulating environment that fosters continuous growth and learning. Even after nearly two years with Mercari, I am constantly acquiring new knowledge and skills. I am genuinely excited about the prospect of collaborating with you. Joining Mercari as an intern was an incredible opportunity that opened doors to a world of knowledge for me. The Security Team at Mercari is not just great, it's exceptional. As someone who transitioned from an intern to a full-time employee, I can attest to the remarkable experiences and the learning curve here. Mercari is not just a company; it's a place where cutting-edge technologies are a norm, ensuring you're always on the forefront of your field. The culture at Mercari is truly remarkable, and the chance to collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures adds a delightful flavor to the experience. If you're considering an internship, look no further—the Security Team at Mercari will not only help you grow but also inspire you to take your career to new heights.
29. Messages from Members Security Engineer Muge Cephe Dursun Security Engineer João Penteado Ever since joining Mercari, my days have been filled with constant challenges and learning. Luckily, we have some of the best and most supportive professionals in their respective fields and a very open and approachable culture. The focus is always on enabling your colleagues to excel at any tasks they endeavor. In the security field, our achievements don’t necessarily translate to perceivable value to the general public; however, we are proud whenever we look back at the significant improvements we promoted to our security posture over time. Within Platform Security, we are often interacting with many different areas of both the technical and business side of the company, which allows us to offer a unique perspective to the rest of the security division. Whether you are a seasoned professional or just recently graduated, you can be sure your time here would be worthwhile! Since I joined Mercari, I have met many talented people in the Security Team and many more in other teams who also like to share their knowledge and help you to grow. Mercari's diverse culture not only provides an opportunity to work with people from various backgrounds, but also enriches our professional journey with fresh perspectives, innovative solutions, and the incredible chance to learn and grow. As Threat Detection Engineers, we need to think outside of the box to explore unconventional approaches. We embrace challenges, keep growing, and look beyond to improve our architecture and ourselves as well. Breaking free from the monotone tasks and embracing continuous learning is my motivation to keep growing and exploring new horizons. At Mercari, you'll find a supportive and dynamic community eager to guide you as you embark on a journey filled with exciting challenges, innovation, and personal growth.