Focus on the “Medmainer” - Adam Millerchip
My name is Daiki and I’m working on recruitment and PR at Medmain.
This issue of Medmain Speaks features Adam Millerchip from the engineering team. As an engineer, he is involved in the product development of “PidPort”, a digital pathology image AI analysis solution.
Adam comes to Japan from the UK and has experience as an engineer, starting up an organization.
“How did you decide to come to Japan?”
“Why did you decide to join Medmain…”
“What’s it like working as a ‘Medmain Engineer’ from his point of view…”
We will tell you the story and the episode.
Please introduce yourself first.
My name is Adam, I’m from the UK originally.
I was working as an Engineer in Edinburgh, Scotland after graduating University before moving to Japan.
I like Japanese culture in general, such as Japanese Sake. As my interest for Japan grew, I decided to learn the language, so I moved to Japan on a working holiday visa and started studying Japanese.
After working in Fukuoka for about 5 years, I recently spent a year in Kyoto to help my previous employer to set up a new Engineering centre there.
Then I moved back to Fukuoka in November last year to join Medmain.
So, why Fukuoka?
I chose Fukuoka is because I prefer small, compact cities over large metropolises..
I did the same thing in the UK. There might have been more opportunities in London but I chose to stay in Edinburgh where I graduated from a University.
I think I have a contrarian streak, preferring to try something different and not to join the mainstream. When I was choosing where to live in Japan, I looked at more regional cities, instead of Tokyo.
Another reason I chose Fukuoka is that I already had a good impression of the city thanks to a Canadian Youtuber that lives in Fukuoka and uploads videos about life in the city.
It seemed to have great food, laid back friendly people, and the location is looked nice - close to the other Asian countries. On top of that, Fukuoka was getting a reputation as a tech / startup center so I wanted to be involved in that community.. Luckily I found an interesting language school , soI decided to enroll.
Fukuoka has good balance. It’s a big city with millions of people, but it’s also not too big and it’s easy to get out of the city and visit the countryside.. There are some great Onsen towns around Fukuoka, such as Kurokawa, Ureshino, etc.
What was your previous job like?
My previous company was mainly focused onchat applications. In that tool people can register and sell their stickers to send in chats. I was working on that system, as well asdeveloping an internal tools and the server-side API for the Mobile app.
After working for that team for a few years, I moved to another team responsible for developing the back-end of the customer-facing online store, and after a few months they asked me to move to Kyoto to help set up the new engineering office there.
Please tell us the story behind your decision to join Medmain
At the time, I had a vague idea that I wanted to return to Fukuoka and try something new. When I started looking for a new job, my friends introduced me to Medmain.
In the process of researching the company, I was very interested in the fact that they are developing new products using AI. I felt that this is a company that has the potential to make a big impact on the world, and I thought I could make use of my own experience as an early member of the development team.
When I was living in the UK, I worked for a medical software company that developed software to visualize medical data such as CTs, MRIs and ultrasound, and I find it very rewarding to be involved in the development of medical products because it is a kind of job that benefits people all over the world.
Although I am an engineer, it is very interesting that I am able to deepen my knowledge of medicine and pathology.
Working at Medmain
What kind of work do you do at Medmain?
I am for engineering the backend of “PidPort”. When I first joined the company, the prototype version already existed, but the product version was being developed from almost zero, so I was entrusted with a wide range of tasks and have been involved in development.
PidPort is a software service, so we’re not only developing it from the point of view at infrastructure side, but also at the user side and thinking of how to make it easier for them to use. It’s very fun and rewarding to build a service from almost nothing.
How do you feel about the working environment as an engineer?
We all understand the nature and culture of a “startup” company, so I feel that our members are prepared and autonomous to do any task on their own.
In the most large companies, each team is often divided into smaller groups to do more detailed work, but at Medmain, everyone is established as one big team of ”engineers”. We work separately on the back and frontend, but everyone of us is managing the system.
Rather than deciding who’s in charge of the server and who writes the code, etc., all of us on the team grasping the entire product and sharing that responsibility.
Basically, when one person is responsible for development,another person provides feedback, so the work is basically carried out by several people.
In general, we make a list of tasks for two weeks and set a goal to get them done in two weeks. It’s called a” sprint”, which I think is common in engineering jobs.
In order to eliminate the situation where there is no one else to know about the task when someone is off, we always make sure that we all share the progress.
Please tell us about your remote work.
Our engineers are scattered throughout the country and abroad. In Japan, it’s Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, etc. If it’s other countries, it’s China, the UK and so on.
Since they are scattered across the country, many of them work remotely, which means a lot of communication is online, but we use tools such as Google hangouts, Slack, and Notion. In terms of communication, we actively hold daily stand-up and regular weekly meetings so it feels like we work closely together, so I don’t feel much inconvenience.
I think that being able to work remotely is a very important factor in working as an engineer because there is an advantage to being able to work with people you want to work with without leaving where you want to be. I would like to continue to live in Fukuoka, and I think it’s great to be able to work with the best members without being limited by location or time, even though each member has different circumstances of course.
However, there are situations where it is more effective to communicate face-to-face instead of online, so I think it’s important to use appropriate ways depending on the needs.
Finally, to our future members
Do you have a message for people who are thinking about working with us?
Being a startup company, the changes are fast and big, so I feel the most important thing is to enjoy them.
In order to realize CEO Iizuka’s vision of “becoming a startup that makes an impact on the universe,” it is important for everyone to take on the challenge, and I feel that this is a company that has the potential to even realize his grand vision.
Also, because Medmain is a company with a global vision, most employees speak English. As an engineer, I am able to communicate and complete most of my work in English. Such an environment is very rare, and it is one of the reasons why I feel comfortable working here.
If you want to work with a dynamic team,have great discretion and responsibility, and make an impact on the world, it will fit you.
Thank you so much for your time!
“The company trusts and cares about its engineers…
These are the words that Adam said during the interview.
There is of course direction from the company when it comes to product outlines, but the details are left to the engineering team and they are given a lot of discretion.
He said that this has helped him to improve his motivation in a good way.
“I can work at my own pace, so I lose track of time and get so focused that I end up working late before I know it,” he says mischievously, but with a high level of enthusiasm and dedication to product development, we’ll be reporting on his future endeavors in Medmain Speaks.
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Medmain is looking for new members to work with!
If you’ve read this article and are interested in Medmain, please make an entry through our recruitment site:)
We can talk at casual interviews (face-to-face/web) as needed.
AI Research Engineer
https://boards.greenhouse.io/medmainjp/jobs/4057476003
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