Job Description

About SmartNews

SmartNews is a leading global information and news discovery company dedicated to delivering quality information to the people who need it. Thanks to our unique machine-learning technology and relationships with more than 3,000 global publisher partners, we provide news that matters to millions of users.

Founded in 2012 in Tokyo, SmartNews also has offices in Osaka (Kansai Office), Palo Alto, New York and Singapore.

If you share our vision and are passionate about our mission, we encourage you to apply!

Team Mission

The Ads Reporting Platform team builds and maintains the high-throughput, low-latency backend systems and data pipelines that power the core of our advertising ecosystem. We ensure the reliability of critical reporting, invoicing, and measurement services for advertisers and internal stakeholders, processing massive scale data with high availability to make our ads products more profitable and sustainable.

About the Role

In the Ad world, speed and accuracy are everything. In this role, you will be responsible for designing, building, and maintaining scalable, high-performance streaming and batch data pipelines. You will take ownership of core datasets, ensuring uncompromising data accuracy for advertiser reporting and billing systems. Additionally, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams to tackle complex data challenges, including privacy-first data collaboration and the delivery of advanced analytics features, directly contributing to the company's business success and the delivery of a high-quality ads experience.

Responsibilities

• Build and optimize high-throughput data processing applications and pipelines using modern technologies like Kafka, Flink.
• Participate in the architecture design and iteration of robust, scalable backend systems and microservices for our state-of-the-art ads platform.
• Ensure system reliability, low latency, and operational excellence for core advertising services.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to define system architecture, API designs, and deliver high-quality ads features.
• Contribute to data governance initiatives, implementing technical solutions to comply with data privacy policies.

Requirements

Minimum requirements

• Proficiency in at least one backend programming language, such as Python, Java, or Kotlin
• Hands-on experience building and maintaining data pipelines using modern distributed data processing frameworks and OLAP databases
• 3+ years of experience in developing robust backend systems or large-scale applications for high-traffic web services
• Proven ability to architect and manage data solutions on cloud platforms, preferably AWS, including CI/CD integration and infrastructure performance tuning
• Business-level English

Nice to have experiences/skills

• Experience designing, configuring, and operating microservice architectures and cloud-native technologies (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS)
• Experience in the AdTech industry, particularly with advertising metrics, pixel tracking or billing systems
• Practical experience implementing technical data governance and compliance measures for regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and ATT (e.g., data masking, logical database isolation), as well as building Data Clean Room (DCR) solutions
• Familiarity with integrating scalable data pipelines with AI Agents and leveraging Generative AI tools to accelerate development
• Excellent communication skills to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, product managers, and business stakeholders
• Strong problem-solving skills with a proactive mindset to identify system bottlenecks, handle incidents promptly, and improve engineering excellence

Related Links

• "Build It Together" ― How Engineers, Designers, and PMs Shape Products at SmartNews.
• Why Shin Murakami Chose "SmartNews Now"

Working condition

• Office Location: Tokyo
• Click here or visit our careers site for more info.

Benefits

Benefits available at the SmartNews Tokyo Office

• All healthcare and social insurance required by the Japanese labor law, plus annual health check
• Visa sponsorship and overseas relocation support available for eligible candidates
• Click here or visit our careers site for more info about our benefits.