It's been one year since I joined Classmethod Technologies
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1. Introduction
Hello. I'm Nakano from Classmethod Technologies.
Recently, our representative Kikuchi shared information about Classmethod Technologies' culture and origins on YouTube and in blog posts. Seeing that, now that exactly one year has passed since I joined, I wanted to put into writing what the view actually looks like from here — so I wrote this article. I hope you can think of it as a reality check from the field in response to what our representative shared.
The primary intended audience is people considering Classmethod Technologies as their next employer. I'm writing candidly about what I've felt as someone who actually made the career change and worked here for a year.
2. Why I Chose Classmethod Technologies
※ I'll refer to the company as "Technologies" below.
At my previous job, I led a cloud/infrastructure engineering team centered on MSP services and played a role in leading customers' medium-to-long-term IT challenges from an infrastructure perspective. It was fulfilling work, and the role I played in projects was actually fairly similar to what I do now.
The reason I considered changing jobs wasn't dissatisfaction with my previous employer — it was more that I had a growing desire to "test myself at the Classmethod Group, and especially at Technologies, at this particular moment in time." I wanted to challenge myself to see how far I could go within a group that has overwhelming technical expertise and communication reach in the same field. And I wanted to go one step further and get closer to customers in my support role. Those positive motivations were the deciding factor.
In reality, at my previous job, I was skilled at taking an improvement-focused approach to already-running environments, but I had no experience with deeply engaging large enterprise customers or simultaneously handling new infrastructure launches and migrations from existing environments. At Technologies, I could dive into exactly those areas I hadn't experienced yet, right alongside customers' businesses.
To be honest, when I decided to join, the company's information mainly consisted of the job listings on the recruiting site, along with some press releases and the homepage. My basis for judgment was almost entirely the tagline "a team of professionals who DeepDive into customers." Even so, that single phrase resonated with the kind of deeply engaged customer support I had wanted to do, and I decided to test myself here.
3. Expectations Before Joining vs. Reality After Joining
3-1. The Work I Was Entrusted With
Before joining, I vaguely imagined that AWS infrastructure construction would be the core of the work. What I was actually entrusted with exceeded that expectation.
My current assignment is supporting construction for a manufacturing company's customer with a view toward large-scale AWS usage. We're establishing the foundations — networks and various tools — and alongside that, we're also advancing server migration support from on-premises environments. From the requirements definition at the start of the project, through basic design, detailed design, hands-on construction support, operational design toward release, and delivery of procedure documents — I've been involved in every stage as the primary person in charge.
The daily experience of moving forward while engaging a large number of stakeholders is one where I continuously feel both tension and a sense of purpose. Even as a newcomer, customers see me as an AWS and infrastructure professional from the Classmethod Group. The pressure to keep growing every day to meet those expectations is significant and stimulating.
Although my role was similar to my previous job, dealing with enterprise customers and simultaneously running new launches and existing migrations were both first-time challenges for me. That's precisely why there's so much to gain from the field every single day.
In the content Kikuchi shared that I mentioned at the opening, there was a point along the lines of: "Customers' problems don't end with AWS alone. The truly needed partner is one who runs all the way to the finish line with the customer to achieve their goals." I knew nothing but the tagline when I joined, but after a year of being active in this kind of environment, I feel that those words describe exactly what I do every day.
3-2. On Certifications
Over this past year, I obtained three AWS certifications (SAP, SOA, and DVA). However, these weren't the result of studying with the goal of getting certified.
I engaged earnestly with daily project work and acquired the knowledge needed for design and operations through practical experience along the way. That living knowledge also happened to lead to obtaining certifications. I feel that certifications aren't the goal — they're a byproduct that follows from facing the real work head-on.
That said, this pace of certification is a bit slow by Classmethod Group standards, so I'm planning to get more serious about it!
3-3. A Culture That's Easy to Work In
In his content, Kikuchi said, "When you mix cultures, they get diluted." Classmethod's culture of "keeping up with technology, sharing it, and disseminating it widely" and Technologies' culture of "DeepDiving into customers and committing long-term" prioritize different values. That's precisely why the two were intentionally kept separate as distinct companies rather than mixed together.
I'd like to add a bit of nuance here. Being in the field, I feel that "mixing causes dilution" applies at the layer of the highest-priority values each company holds. At the same time, there's something common across the Classmethod Group at the base — and that was the CLP (Classmethod Leadership Principle) and the spirit of Give. My impression is that the top-priority values are sharpened distinctly per company, but the culture that forms the foundation for decisions and behavior is shared across the group. In fact, I think it's precisely because there's a common foundation that each company can fully commit to its own sharpened values.
Seen that way, "what makes Technologies distinctively Technologies" is, I believe, having the group-wide CLP and spirit of Give as a foundation, and then demonstrating those more than anyone else through practical work, directed entirely toward commitment to customers. Because this functions at the level of daily decisions and actions — not as mere slogans — even people who have just joined can act without hesitation and take on challenges with confidence. That's what makes it an environment that's easy to work in and easy to produce results in.
4. Closing
Technologies is an environment that supports the growth of professionals who want to grow autonomously and contribute to customers' businesses through technology.
If anyone reading this article felt even a little excited about our culture or practical work environment, I'd love to work together.
I look forward to speaking with you, whether through a casual interview or otherwise.
