Voice of Success

Jon Gaul

Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

HENNGE K.K. (JAPAN)

Life at HENNGE from Intern to Full-Time Engineer

Hello! My name is Jon Gaul and in April 2022, I moved to Tokyo to work as a full-time backend software engineer at HENNGE.

I first discovered HENNGE back in 2019 through their Global Internship Program (GIP). My time as an intern was life-changing, to say the least. It pushed the limits of my technical skills, gave me hands-on experience with cloud technology, and gave me a chance to work on tools that are still used at HENNGE today. Living and working in Tokyo that summer was challenging, rewarding, and a dream come true.

Taking the leap and becoming a full-time employee has been even better. I've gone from working on internal projects to writing code that directly improves our customers' lives. Every day has given me a chance to keep building the skills I used in my internship and learn something new. It’s a massive jump in responsibility, but I’m not alone. My former mentors have become my colleagues and they’ve supported me since day one. HENNGE’s collaborative culture has made it an incredible place to work, grow, and make a difference.

HENNGE has been supportive from minute one

Driving Projects, Collaboration, and Decision-Making at HENNGE

My team handles HENNGE Access Control - a product that uses Single Sign-On technology to make our customers safer, provides sophisticated customization options, and even includes access to our public API for our power users. As it’s a security tool, we have to hold ourselves to a high standard. Our focus on open communication and collaboration keeps us safe and ensures high quality as we develop new features and improvements to the product.

One of my favorite parts of my job has been the diverse projects we get to tackle. My first project was a zero-downtime refactoring of our log system, involving managing our database alongside changes to our public API. It’s only been more complex from there, with a full-stack self-password reset feature that required a strong understanding of security, user experience, and how to communicate these changes with people inside and outside the team. And the more work I’ve done, the more I get to push for the features I’m passionate about.

The diverse people are a great part of life at HENNGE, too. Aside from my backend-focused teammates, I’ve gotten to learn from our frontend team, designers, and our project managers. Strong communication skills have been crucial to succeeding at HENNGE. It takes a lot to keep millions of users secure and happy!

Diverse projects and people are a highlight

From Passion Projects to Global Stages

Aside from work, HENNGE is a supportive place for your passions. Our Monthly Technical Sessions (MTS) are a perfect example: once a month people from across the engineering division gather to present on things they care about. I’ve watched incredible presentations about topics big and small - conference recaps, recent team successes and failures, and even passion projects like someone’s IoT setup for growing wine. It’s a great opportunity to see your coworkers' expertise in fields you never even imagined.

Early on, I presented a demo of a Python script I built to beat an obscure variant of Minesweeper. It was great to share this weird, niche project with colleagues, and I was blown away by the amount of positive feedback I got back. We’re encouraged to turn our talks into blog posts if they go well, and I was blown away again by the positive feedback on that blog post!

From there, my team mentor has always encouraged me to apply to speak at Python conferences. Thanks to support from him and our hiring team, financial backing from HENNGE, and a culture that prizes sharing your passions, I got to travel to four countries and speak at PyCons at each one.

Photo from my latest MTS, guess the context!

A Culture of Growth and Support

I’ve had a chance to grow in so many ways since joining HENNGE. Learning from brilliant people and testing my skills against challenging projects has pushed me to become a better engineer. MTS talks and the skills required for successful cross-team collaboration, my public speaking and communication skills have never been better. I’ve even gone from being an intern to mentoring and interviewing interns for the program - both milestones I never even imagined for myself! I’ve been recognized for this growth through bonuses and promotions as well.

None of this would be possible without the warm and supportive culture I’ve found here. HENNGE is a place where you’re valued. Your technical skills are valued by a team that wants to support and be supported by you. Your interests, your hobbies and side projects are actively encouraged and fostered. This is a place where you can find projects that fit your passions as a software developer - and if those projects don’t exist, you're encouraged to make them yourself.

Launch your career with HENNGE!

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