Engineering Manager - Infrastructure

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 and Role MissionAt Infrastructure Foundation, we build and scale the core compute and network backbone that powers SmartNews for millions of users. Our mission is to deliver high-performance, cost-effective, and resilient infrastructure that accelerates product innovation across the entire engineering organization.

By operating massive Kubernetes clusters across multiple regions, we solve complex distribution and reliability challenges at scale. Every optimization we make directly enhances system availability, reduces latency, and optimizes global efficiency for SmartNews’s most critical services.

We champion simplicity, stability, and speed. We empower developer teams by providing a seamless, reliable platform that lets them ship fast with confidence, ensuring our infrastructure remains an engine for company-wide growth.

Responsibilities• Drive Strategic Execution: Translate infrastructure strategy into an actionable roadmap, leading high-impact initiatives that elevate the reliability and performance of our core technical backbone.

• Lead and Grow People: Mentor, coach, and empower a high-performing, inclusive engineering team, fostering career growth and maintaining a supportive environment where individuals thrive.
• Champion Operational Rigor: Define and optimize team processes, maintain an actionable backlog, and ensure consistent, efficient delivery of platform improvements.
• Cultivate Technical Excellence: Partner closely with senior ICs to maintain a high bar for system availability and developer experience, ensuring our platforms remain stable and simple.
• Drive Cross-Functional Partnership: Serve as a trusted platform advocate by collaborating with Product, Ads, Content, and ML teams to align our infrastructure capabilities with broader company goals.

Required experience • Technical Background: 3+ years of hands-on experience as an individual contributor in a modern engineering or infrastructure role.

• People Leadership: 2+ years of experience leading, mentoring, and managing engineering teams in high-growth technology organizations.
• Inclusive Communication: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with a proven track record of supporting diverse, multicultural teams.
• Execution & Prioritization: Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities, streamline delivery, and keep teams focused.
• Language Proficiency: Business-level fluency in Japanese and English for effective daily collaboration across global teams.

Nice to have experience • Large-Scale Infrastructure: Hands-on experience designing and operating large-scale Kubernetes clusters (1,000+ nodes).

• Platform Ownership: Background in developing and managing internal developer platforms or enterprise B2B products.

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.
• Click here or visit our careers site to check employee interviews.