Software Engineer, Frontend

About SmartNews

News should be for everyone. But not when it’s buried under cat videos—or when your internet is spotty—or when it’s in a filter bubble. That’s why we created SmartNews.

Our mission is to discover and deliver quality stories to the world. To accomplish this:

We are a machine learning company. News should be impartial, trending and trustworthy. Our algorithms evaluate millions of articles, social signals and human interactions to deliver the top 0.01% of stories that matter most, right now.

We love content. News should be sustainable. We support quality journalism and respect publishers by sharing article traffic and revenue.

Please note that we will only consider you for one application at a time.

Position

Mission 

SmartNews is a technology company driven by our mission of delivering the world's quality information to those who need it. Our leading mobile news app has tens of millions of monthly active users in Japan and the US. Our goal is to grow SmartNews into a top global product, delivering quality information that supports millions worldwide.

One step toward achieving that goal is to create a feature so that our websites and article pages load lighting-quick and are easy to read.

Culture 

Our engineers come from a variety of backgrounds from large, well-established companies to small ventures. We believe that employees with diverse sets of skills working together make for strong, cohesive teams.

Visit our People page to see interviews of our engineering leaders!

Responsibilities

As a frontend engineer, you are responsible for delivering quality information in a format that renders it instantly accessible and easy to read for both mobile and desktop products for both our Japanese and global users.

This includes:

• Rapid frontend development of hybrid apps to deliver information that meets users' real-time demand (e.g., Corona Virus Real-Time Updates, Olympics, etc.)
• Collaborating with product managers and UX designers to provide web applications from formulating user stories, designing, implementing, and to production
• Collaborating with other engineering teams to develop frontend platforms, components, and APIs for global team members
• Feature development (such as SmartView) to improve user experience
• Providing technical innovation to promote good usability, improve product reliability, and system resiliency
• Standardizing web foundation to increase internal engineering productivity at scale 
• Participating in the product development life cycle for features build using web technologies, including planning, design, implementation, and maintenance, focus on UI/UX design both for PC and mobile

Your qualification

• Strong proficiency of JavaScript / TypeScript, HTML, and CSS
• Experience in building and scaling modern web applications
• Experience with common frontend development tools (Babel, Webpack, Rollup, etc.)
• Ability to prioritize and work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment
• Ability to effectively communicate in Japanese or English

Will be a plus

• Experience with modern frontend frameworks (React, Vue, Svelte, etc.)
• Comprehensive knowledge of mobile web development
• Strong interest in new web specifications and standards
• An eye for detail, a sense of aesthetics, and a love for user experience

What we offer

• Support program for employees’ self-development and well-being
• Healthy lunches are prepared on-site daily in our SmartKitchen, located in our West Office building. You can even see the cooks at work!
• Need a pick-me-up? Stop by ChikyuCoffee, our in-house coffee shop located in both the East and West Office buildings, and get a cup of gourmet coffee, espresso-based beverage, or other seasonal drink!
• SmartNews provides all healthcare and social insurance benefits required by Japanese labor law

Visa Sponsorship and Relocation Support

SmartNews can sponsor visas for candidates who meet eligibility requirements.

To support a smooth transition for candidates who are moving to Japan from overseas, SmartNews partners with a travel service provider.