Rina
Entry date…joined Rakuten Group mid-career in July 2023
Department…Leisure Product Department (LPD)
Position…QA engineer
Origin…Seoul, Republic of Korea
Hobby…travelling, playing instruments
Hi, everyone. This is R-Hack editorial office.
Rakuten Group is a global company where English is the official language within the company. Rina, who is fluent in three languages, Korean, English, and Japanese, joined Rakuten Group wanting to put her language skills to use.
We asked Rina, who is now working as a QA engineer for “Rakuten Keiba” (Japanese only), about how she joined the company, the work environment, her job responsibilities, and her team.
INDEX
✔I changed jobs to Rakuten Group to make use of my language skills
✔Working as a QA engineer in the open-minded culture of Rakuten Group
✔An environment where I can demonstrate my abilities and grow
I changed jobs to Rakuten Group to make use of my language skills
--Can you start by introducing yourself?
Hello, everyone. I’m Rina, and I work as a QA engineer for “Rakuten Keiba”.
I am originally from Seoul, Korea, but spent my middle and high school years in Australia. After that, I wanted to advance myself in a non-English speaking environment, so I moved to Japan, a country next to my home country but with a different culture.
I like not only to travel to experience different cultures, but also to play musical instruments that allow me to immerse myself in the world of music. Recently, I have also become interested in wine and coffee tasting. My hobbies keep me busy on weekends.
--What kind of work did you do before joining Rakuten Group?
After graduating from university, I worked as a QA engineer on a DX (Digital Transformation) project in the financial industry for about 2 years and 3 months. I worked on a group insurance system. I was in charge of assuring the overall functionality of the system before releasing the system from on-premise to the cloud. For example, I made sure that each module from the system functionality was working properly when it was combined into different groups, and I also performed data validation.
--Did you decide to join Rakuten Group because you wanted to work in a global environment?
Yes. I can speak English, Japanese, and Korean, so I wanted to make use of that. Since Rakuten Group is a global company where English is its official language, it was perfect for me. Another deciding factor was that Rakuten Group offers a variety of products in-house, providing an environment in which I could hone my expertise.
Working as a QA engineer in the open-minded culture of Rakuten Group
--Can you describe your work at “Rakuten Keiba”?
As a QA engineer, I am responsible for assuring the system quality of “Rakuten Keiba” so that users can use it more conveniently.
-- Can you tell us a little more about the work of a QA engineer?
The QA engineers at Rakuten Group have three main tasks. They are: testing new services to ensure quality before they are released, improving processes and operational efficiency, and ensuring quality stability so that system users can use services stably.
To improve and maintain quality more efficiently, the QA team performs regular service quality checks through automated testing. If a problem is found, we share the issue with the development team and request that it be fixed or improved. The team is also responsible for making sure that the issues raised are properly resolved to the point that the completeness of the service can be guaranteed.
--After joining Rakuten Group, were you able to fit in right away?
I was very nervous on my first day. However, Rakuten Group has structured onboarding plans for new joiners and for understanding department-related work. So, I easily acclimated to the culture of Rakuten Group．
QA engineers are deeply involved with various departments related to each product. These interactions with other departments were facilitated by the open-minded corporate culture of Rakuten Group, allowing me to smoothly understand everything, from the software development process to the software testing lifecycle within the internal environment.As a result, I am now able to thrive as a QA engineer for the “Rakuten Keiba” system.
An environment where I can demonstrate my abilities and grow
--You mentioned that Rakuten Group has a good onboarding process and an open-minded corporate culture, making it easy for new non-Japanese employees to adapt. How about your team?
The Leisure Product Department where I belong has many QA engineers. We are a global team with many foreign nationals. Since we are a department with members from different cultures, we try to understand and respect each other well. We are also a professional team that can tackle issues from different perspectives because of our diverse backgrounds.
The members are open-minded and friendly, with a sense of responsibility and passion. By sharing ideas and providing feedback to each other, we can grow together. I am happy to be part of such a great team, and I am excited about my future at Rakuten Group!
--Can you share with us what you would like to accomplish in the future at Rakuten Group and your future career plans?
In the short term, I aim to enhance my skills as a QA engineer at Rakuten Group to efficiently ensure quality so that more users can use "Rakuten Keiba" stably.
In the mid to long term, my goal is to become a product development manager. Eventually, I would like to manage the entire product development process, including risk management, and provide high-quality software services in a short period of time.
--Lastly, please give a message to those interested in Rakuten Group.
Rakuten Group offers a very flexible environment, so even the young can freely express their ideas. You can also find your own goals and sense of fulfillment while proactively finding and solving problems. Of course, those around you will lend a helping hand where support is needed, and a full range of training programs are also available.
If you are someone who wants to develop your life further by utilizing your abilities and strengths, rather than just being a cog in the machine, I believe you can create a satisfying career plan at Rakuten Group! If, like me, you want to enjoy your work by demonstrating your abilities, don't hesitate to apply. I will be happy if you build a career that is a turning point in your life together with us!
Thank you for the positive message, Rina! We look forward to your continued success!
Come work with us!
Leisure Product Department (LPD) is looking for colleagues to join our team in developing new services, performing daily operations, and making improvements! Recruitment is open for a wide range of positions, including engineers and product managers. We look forward to your application.
