After the names of our Chairman Masato Nakao and President Shohei Ozaki, among the staff members of i-PRO, the most familiar name in the company may be Hitomi Nakahara, the subject of this interview. Nakahara, who works in the Human Resources Department, is charged with sending a variety of information via email to everyone in the company. So, every employee—even those who have never met her face to face—must at least be familiar with her name. Nakahara is about to enter a new phase in her career, as she is expecting a baby this autumn. In this interview, she candidly shared her feelings.

Yohei Koyanagi started work for an electronics manufacturer right after graduating from university and has been involved in camera mechanism design for about 12 years. Currently he works in i-PRO’s Corporate Technology Mechanism Practice, where he designs surveillance cameras. What are his thoughts about these cameras—which, while still “cameras” in one sense—require completely different functions? Now that a year has passed since joining the company, he shares his frank thoughts about his work.

Yasushi Mizumachi, who is currently assigned to the Optics & Image Quality Module Development, made the move to i-PRO from an optical equipment manufacturer in July 2020. Mizumachi, a native of Fukuoka City who attended high school there in Hakata Ward, told us he “felt a sense of fate that a company in Hakata Ward was recruiting for jobs in optics.” We talked about things with Mizumachi to find out what direction this man—who is not only an engineer but who considers the business from a bird’s eye perspective—is headed.

Taking the Next step