LINE Careers

About Work

Q Please introduce LINE's Game Platform Dev Team and your responsibilities.

LINE GAME is a large-scale service with about 390 million active users around the world, most notably in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia. The Game Platform Dev Team is responsible for supporting the LINE GAME service by developing and managing a platform for game developers and various web services. Specifically, we develop and operate Game Platform APIs such as game authentication, achievements, items, rankings, push notifications, and promotional marketing platforms like in-game banners. We also develop services that use large-scale game platform logs to provide user-targeting data based on graphs and analytical metrics. Among these activities, I am responsible for the 'Common System' which addresses issues needed for the Game Platform across the entire global organization. Additionally, I manage the LINE GAME Developers site, which offers a variety of features to support game companies in launching and operating their games.

Q What’s your usual work schedule like?

I primarily work from home. To be honest, I usually start my day by sending my wife off to work and doing some household chores (laughs), and then I begin my workday around 9 a.m. I sit at my desk to check my calendar and to-do list for the day, and I carefully review my email inbox and Jira to ensure I don't miss any important work-related matters. Another part of my morning routine is thoroughly reading through wiki documents. At LINE, we use a wiki as a tool for smooth collaboration, where we extensively record various details about ongoing services and projects. By checking not only my document space and my team's document space but also the documents of higher-level organizations, I can expand my understanding from the context of the service to the context of the organization and the company. This helps me understand the company's goals, the processes and decisions that lead to my tasks, and it also motivates me in my work. After reading the wiki, I proceed with development tasks, meetings with team members, and code reviews.

Q When working for internationally based users, are there any considerations or preparations you like to focus on?

Fundamentally, we consider the different laws and regulations in each country, such as those related to personal information. Another important consideration is the mobile environment. In Korea, it's not easy to experience situations where there is no internet connection. However, when I lived in Japan three years ago, there were many instances where the internet would disconnect while passing through tunnels. We need to take into account these unstable mobile environments that differ from Korea.

Q What's your focus when collaborating with other roles, departments, or globally?

I place great importance on using clear terminology. Currently, I work in a wide range of roles, collaborating with departments in many countries, and I know how, when collaborating with different departments such as engineering, business, planning, and design, a single word can be understood differently by each party. The moment our understandings diverge, the direction of service development can go astray. Therefore, I strive to use clear terms that ensure everyone is on the same page.

Thoughts on competencies

Q What abilities and qualities do you believe are necessary for delivering excellent performance in your role?

"Stability!" I believe stability is the foundation of all server-based systems. If a system does not operate stably, user experience can significantly deteriorate, which I think leads to a decline in the service's credibility. Especially since I am responsible for the Common System, if there is an issue with the system I manage, it can expand into problems for all services, making stability even more crucial. Therefore, thorough testing and monitoring are essential to ensure this, and while prevention is important, having a system in place to quickly respond to issues when they arise naturally follows. Additionally, considering LINE's massive role in the social infrastructure of Japanese society, beyond being just a simple messenger, the stability and reliability of the service are even more critical. If I can add one more idea, it would be "scalability." Scalability refers to the ability of a system to efficiently handle increasing numbers of users and data volumes. To achieve scalability, it is important to design an architecture that can support growing services, even if starting with a small-scale service. For this, we design systems to allow flexible expansion by utilizing cloud-based solutions or MSA (Micro Service Architecture). Such designs help respond to rapid service growth, maintain cost efficiency, and optimize performance. To maintain "stability" and "scalability," I need to keep on learning and trying out new technologies and methodologies.

Challenges and Failures

Q What does the word “challenge” mean to you?

To be honest, "challenge" doesn't hold a particularly grand meaning for me; it feels more like an extension of my everyday work. I believe challenges naturally come from trying new things or solving problems. Therefore, rather than being consciously aware of "challenges," I focus on doing my best with the tasks at hand and strive to learn and grow through the process.

Special experiences at LINE

Q Please tell us about the colleagues that you work with at LINE.

If I were to describe my team members in one phrase, it would be "veteran warriors who can handle anything." Within the Game Platform, there are various products, so a small number of people often take ownership and work on multiple products. As a result, everyone effectively plays a role as if they were a team of one hundred. Each team member has their own strengths. For example, one team member quickly learns new technologies and implements them into the team's products, sharing this knowledge for mutual growth. Another team member has a deep understanding of performance or specific technologies, providing expert assistance in those areas. Therefore, when problems arise, we learn a lot from each other in the process of finding creative solutions or generating new ideas, and we both inspire and are inspired by one another. I always consider myself very fortunate to work with team members who are full of passion and responsibility. The process of growing and developing together is so enjoyable! (laughs)

Q Is there any benefit or cultural aspect at LINE that you think is particularly notable?

I think it's the work environment where you can view the code written by excellent colleagues. Just as you need to read a lot of good writing to write well or see a lot of good art to draw well, I believe you need to see a lot of good code to write good code. In that sense, at LINE, I have the opportunity to see a wide range of high-quality code written by outstanding fellow developers, which is very educational for me.

Wrap-up

Q Do you have any goals you personally want to achieve at LINE?

My top priority is to enhance the stable operation of the Game Platform service that I am currently responsible for. To provide users with a consistent experience and reliability, I want to establish a thorough monitoring system and improve stability by increasing availability through efficient infrastructure management. Furthermore, I want to contribute to the growth of the team and the organization. While personal growth is important, I believe the growth of the entire team is equally significant. I aim to create an environment where team members can grow together and especially provide mentoring to junior engineers to help them fully realize their potential. In conclusion, I want to contribute to LINE achieving more innovative and sustainable growth!

Q Any message for those interested in this position?

I believe that being a Server-side Engineer for the Game Platform offers a variety of global experiences beyond simply developing a global service. As a Game Platform Server-side Engineer, you will design and implement services for users worldwide, providing interesting opportunities to understand and incorporate diverse cultures and user needs. For example, in the process of considering the features or services required by users in different regions, you naturally encounter various cultural backgrounds and perspectives. Additionally, through collaboration with global teams, you can develop the ability to understand and communicate with different cultures and work styles. I think these experiences provide a solid foundation for growing not only in technical skills but also as an engineer with a global mindset, offering the best opportunity to broaden and deepen your career. If you are interested in joining a journey full of interest and fulfillment as a Server-side Engineer for the Game Platform, don't hesitate to join LINE!

Q Curious about where your professional journey could take you next?

Check out the career opportunities on our Jobs page! - https://careers.linecorp.com/ko/jobs/2416