TokyoDev Talks Vol. 7: Interviewing in the age of AI & AI vs...

This event is being held at Tokyo Innovation Base (TiB). When attending it, you'll also need to complete the free registration process with TiB if you have not already done so. You are strongly encouraged to complete this in advance, as otherwise you'll need to complete it on site before you're allowed into the venue.

Join us for the seventh instalment of TokyoDev Talks, where we have presentations that cut across the stack from engineers working at some of the most interesting tech companies in Japan.

Note that attendance for this event is limited to software developers, those aspiring to become one, or working in an adjacent position (e.g. Product Managers, UI/UX Designers, Security Engineers, etc). If you're unsure whether you're qualified to attend, please get in touch.

Agenda

18:30 〜 19:00 Doors open

Enjoy talking with the other participants before the presentations begin. Drinks and snacks will be provided by KATIX and CADDi.

19:00 〜 19:05 Opening - Paul McMahon

We'll kick things off by welcoming everyone and giving a short introduction of the event.

19:05 〜 19:30 Thank God it’s not LeetCode: Interviewing in the age of AI — Luigi Taira D.

Too often, technical interviews feel like nightmare puzzles that measure how well someone has memorized algorithms instead of how they solve real problems. With Gilded Rose, we flipped the script: it’s messy legacy code with unclear rules, and the task is to bring order to that chaos. Candidates have to read, reason, and communicate, just like on the job, and that gives us a far clearer picture than a contrived brainteaser ever could.

This approach isn’t about evaluating coding ability, it’s about seeing how someone thinks under pressure, how they explain trade-offs in real time, and whether they can balance pragmatism with maintainability. It’s also resilient in an AI-heavy world; tools can suggest code, but they can’t articulate why a refactor matters or defend a design choice in front of a panel. After running this process many times, we’ve found it both fairer to candidates and more predictive for us as a company. By the end of this session, I hope you’ll see how a simple kata can evolve into a scalable, culture-aligned way of hiring that actually builds better teams.

About Luigi Taira D. (Tech Lead at KATIX Inc.)

At my core, I’m a builder. I’ve spent most of my career as a software engineer, but what really drives me is designing systems. Whether it’s an app architecture, a compiler for fun on the weekends, or the hiring and onboarding process at my company. I’m always trying to create structure out of chaos, because I know firsthand how messy things can get when you just let them run.

19:30 〜 19:55 ​AI vs... — Aki Kobashi

AI is sometimes perceived as a wonderful, even perfect entity.

When it comes to implementation and utilization:

If we view AI as a sort of virtual human, it ultimately tests our human management capabilities.

Since AI can't "read the room" or rely on human-like intuition for information management and policy adherence, it necessitates a more rigorous system design and governance framework.

While AI is certainly useful as a general-purpose tool, its performance can be lacking in highly specialized domains. Like a new hire, AI is unaware of company-specific or highly niche information, making it crucial to figure out how to effectively educate and train it.

Given this backdrop, how should we approach and engage with AI? In a world increasingly centered around AI, what skills and abilities should we as engineers prioritize and pursue?

About Aki Kobashi (CADDi, Inc. Co-founder & CTO)

Studied electrical engineering at Stanford University. After four years of working on data processing in aerospace in coordination with NASA and JAXA, Aki joined Apple to work on mobile products including the iPhone. Later on, he worked as a senior engineer on the development of embedded products such as the AirPods. Co-founded CADDi in late 2017.

19:55 〜 20:00 Closing - Paul McMahon

A short wrap-up for the presentation portion of the event.

20:00 〜 21:00 Open Networking

Discuss the presentation or anything else with the other attendees.

About TokyoDev

TokyoDev's job board is filled with software developer positions at Japanese companies whose engineering team’s primary language is English. From the big companies you’ve already heard of, to smaller up-and-coming startups, our positions offer you the chance to live in Japan but work in an international environment.

About KATIX

KATIX makes selling your vehicle simple. Just take a photo and enter the details of it, and you'll receive offers from multiple companies for it.

About CADDi

CADDi makes enterprise software for the manufacturing industry. To date, we have raised 21.73 billion yen and operate business in four countries, including Japan, the U.S., Vietnam, and Thailand.

Code of Conduct

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Participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event at the discretion of the organisers.

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