Employee Interview Haruka Nakamura Image

My seed is a desire to explore things

Haruka Nakamura

New graduate hire IT Engineer (Cybersecurity) Networks Company
3rd Engineering Division, 1st Engineering Department

Nakamura, a network engineer, majored in language and culture as a student. He learned the importance of empathizing with customers' feelings through a job that is completely different from the image of an engineer's job as "working silently."

Q1: What is your current job and what is rewarding about it?

Commitment to "revealing the facts"

As an engineer, I am in charge of a product that visualizes log data generated from mobile devices, servers, network devices and sensors, etc. My job includes providing support to companies that have implemented the product, investigating and resolving causes when problems occur, and providing instruction on how to use the product.
Sometimes I go to customers' sites together with sales staff to make product proposals. When I was a student, I had the image of an engineering job as "a job where you work alone in silence," but that's not the case for a network engineer at Macnica.
I think that this job is characterized by and interesting in that it involves listening closely to the customer's issues and coming up with solutions from a technical perspective.

In my work, I am particular about "clarifying the facts." For example, I often receive inquiries from customers saying, "I can't do this operation," but when I investigate, the cause is often somewhere else. Even when I'm consulted with someone who says, "I can't get the log for XX," it turns out that it can be obtained on the app, and the search method may be incorrect.

The people who know the most about the products we offer are the manufacturers who develop them, but it is none other than Macnica engineers who are the first to consult with customers about any defects or problems with those products.
Without a correct understanding of the facts, no matter how much support we receive from our supplier manufacturers, we will not be able to resolve the problem. While we respond sincerely to our customers, we listen to their situation thoroughly from various angles to clarify "what is actually happening" and "are there any errors in what the customer is saying?" We keep in mind that this is the first step towards resolving their problem, and is what our customers expect from our technical support.

In fact, I majored in humanities subjects and studied language and culture when I was a student. I thought that engineering jobs were reserved for people with a science background, so I initially applied for a sales position. During the interview, the HR person suggested that I might be suited to an engineering position, and I became interested. I had always thought, "If I'm going to do this, I want to become extremely knowledgeable about the product!", so an engineering position that involves knowing the product inside and out and proposing it to customers from a technical perspective was perfect for me.
There were other people in the company who had similar liberal arts backgrounds but had become engineers, and after hearing directly from these seniors, I thought it sounded interesting, so I went through the selection process for an engineering position, and that's where I am today.

Daily Schedule

8:15

Come to the office or work from home

Work starts at 8:45, so be sure to finish preparations 15 to 30 minutes before.
Check emails and schedule for the day
9:00

Support

Creating a survey policy for new inquiries
Check the status of ongoing cases and create delivery date responses
12:00

Lunch

Bring your own lunch or go to a restaurant near the office with a colleague

16:00

Newcomer Weekly Review

Weekly regular meetings between new employees in charge of training and team managers
Understanding the work situation of new employees
Reflection on what went well and what you want to improve
18:15

End of Business

Reviewing the day and organizing remaining tasks
18:30

Going home or drinking party

Returning Home
Team drinking parties and going out to dinner with my classmates

Q2: An episode in which you grew

To be an engineer who understands the feelings of our customers

I once received a report from a customer about a certain problem. "Even when I use the product provided by Macnica, I can't check the log data stored in the cloud. Maybe the product's application isn't working properly." I interviewed the customer to clarify the issue, and tried to create the same error environment in-house to find the cause, but no matter how many times I tried to recreate the environment, the error did not occur, and I just couldn't figure out the cause.
Having exhausted all possible testing at Macnica, we asked our supplier to investigate the cause and waited for their response. We thought there was nothing else to do but wait, so we simply waited for an update. Then we received some harsh words from the customer: "What is Macnica doing right now? We have no idea what the latest situation is. Please solve the problem quickly." More than a month had passed since we received the request.

We had to wait for updates from our supplier manufacturers, but from the customers' perspective, who were facing problems and in trouble, they had no idea what Macnica or our supplier manufacturers were doing, and it just seemed like time was passing by. That's when I realized that being a network engineer isn't just about answering technical questions and answers.

Since then, I have been mindful of my customers' feelings and have made an effort to regularly share information with them about the current situation and future plans. Even if the time it takes to resolve the issue remains the same, the level of customer satisfaction is completely different when we communicate with them our sincere efforts and share the facts. I feel very sorry for the customer who criticized me, but this case has remained strong in my mind as one that helped me grow as a person and will be a valuable asset in my future work.

MY VISIONFuture goals and aspirations

The analysis platform products that I am in charge of have a wide range of functions and can be used in a variety of ways according to customer needs. However, due to the breadth of functionality, many customers are not able to take full advantage of the product's performance. In the future, I would like to become an engineer who can not only solve the problems that customers are currently facing, but also pick up potential issues that the customers themselves are not aware of, and work with them to solve them.

Message

Macnica is a company with an open atmosphere where constructive discussions can be held regardless of whether you are a newcomer or a veteran. In recent years, our business areas have expanded, and the diversity of our employees and working styles has also increased. I feel that one of Macnica 's attractions is its attitude of continuing to innovate with a sense of speed, even as we have grown to the size of a large corporation.
When you are looking for a job or changing jobs, you may feel pressured by the constant stream of choices you have to make, but the process of seriously considering your choices will surely be beneficial for you in the future.
I encourage you to believe in yourself and make a choice you won't regret. I would be very happy if the result was Macnica.