Two employees from SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) received top honors as engineers at companies participating in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN) community. In June 2024, Yoshiyuki Hirao was recognized as one of the “2024 Japan AWS Top Engineers” – marking a SoftBank first – and Yosei Taniguchi was honored as one of the “2024 Japan AWS Jr. Champions.”
APN’s annual awards program in Japan recognizes engineers who deliver exceptional results. Japan AWS Top Engineers awards go to individuals who hold specified certifications and demonstrate technical skills that contribute to AWS business expansion. AWS Jr. Champions awards, on the other hand, are for young engineers with one to three years of experience who actively study AWS and take actions that make a major impact.
A veteran and new hire take on challenge of AWS certification
SoftBank’s two cloud engineer recipients discussed what motivated them to participate in the APN Award program and how they succeeded.
Left: Yoshiyuki Hirao
Right: Yosei Taniguchi
Cloud Integration Division
Enterprise Business Unit
SoftBank Corp.
What’s your work relationship with AWS?
Hirao: I’m responsible for consulting with corporate clients about the introduction of cloud services, designing and building system infrastructures using AWS services. Our department offers multiple cloud services to customers, but we focus particularly on promoting AWS. Specifically, we propose AWS solutions to our clients, address challenges in design and construction, engage in promotional activities both within and outside the company, and work on developing AWS talent.
Taniguchi: I work in the same department as Hirao and generally perform the same duties. Additionally, I lead a team that promotes the use of generative AI. I’m also actively involved in external communications where I look for more effective ways to utilize AWS.
What motivated you both to participate in the awards program?
Hirao: I’ve been doing AWS-related work for seven years now, and I wanted to expand my role beyond that of just an AWS engineer and aim for a higher level of achievement. A significant turning point for me was interacting with a person from another company who received the “AWS Ambassadors” title, a rank above AWS Top Engineers. Their passion for AWS inspired me to follow a similar path. While I had considered pursuing the AWS Top Engineers title before, I hadn’t taken the plunge. But after that interaction, I told my supervisor that I’d be aiming for placement among the AWS Top Engineers. I pushed myself to take it seriously, especially since no one at SoftBank had done it before.
Taniguchi: I’m in my third year since joining the company, and when I first started, I had no background in the cloud or IT, so I felt a significant knowledge gap compared to my peers who had interned at IT companies. It was frustrating being seen as just an inexperienced junior. I thought that if I could earn a title like AWS Jr. Champions, my proposals to clients would carry more weight, and I’d gain more of their trust. That’s what motivated me to take on the challenge.
Recognized for sharing knowledge and making contributions
What were the key elements for being selected for the awards?
Hirao: There are two main criteria for applying for AWS Top Engineers (Services). First, you must hold two specific professional certifications out of the 12 AWS certifications available as of March 2024. Second, applicants need to submit a track record of more than one activity from six different categories, which include internal and external initiatives that utilize AWS.
I was also selected for “2024 Japan AWS All Certifications Engineers,” an award for AWS engineers who hold all 12 certifications, so I already met the first requirement for AWS Top Engineers and got awards for both. For my activity record, I led a team in a hackathon organized by AWS, which involved developing and competing with a generative AI application. I also made presentations at company events where engineers shared their knowledge, and I organized initiatives within our department to train new employees as cloud specialists.
Taniguchi: For AWS Jr. Champions, the award criteria are certifications and contributions to AWS-related activities. Recipients need to obtain a foundational certification and two additional certifications to apply. I completed my foundational, intermediate, and advanced certifications within five months of joining the company, so by the time I applied for AWS Jr. Champions, I already met the certification requirements. I continued to acquire more AWS certifications at a pace of one every few months and, as of June 2024, earned all 10 available certifications.
For my contributions, I demonstrated ‘Amazon DataZone’ to clients. It’s a relatively new AWS service for data analytics that helps foster a data-driven decision-making culture. I also collaborated with Hirao on planning and running training programs for new employees. And I wrote tech blogs about optimizing solution engineering tasks with generative AI on AWS.
Hirao: No new graduate in our division had ever earned foundational, intermediate, and advanced certifications within just five months. Taniguchi set a new standard for us all (laughs).

Balancing daily tasks while studying for multiple certifications and activities must have been challenging. How did you manage?
Hirao: Yes, studying for the certifications was tough. I’m also a parent, so I studied for about one to two hours from 11 PM every night after a day of work, helping with childcare and household chores. As for the activities, as the leader of the AWS promotion team, I created a roadmap at the beginning of each half-year to organize tasks and challenges. Achieving the tasks laid out in the roadmap naturally aligned with the criteria for AWS Top Engineers, so I viewed it as part of my regular duties rather than an additional burden.
Taniguchi: I also felt that the activities I did as part of my regular work contributed to my AWS Jr. Champions candidacy, rather than undertaking extra tasks just for the award. However, as a newcomer with limited experience, I had to focus on acquiring knowledge, while AWS Jr. Champions recognition requires output. Thanks to Hirao, who set a clear path for me, I knew exactly what needed to be done, which made it easier to progress. I also made sure to express my unique perspective and share insights that resonate among younger engineers. To become an AWS Jr. Champion, it's not about achieving major feats but rather about constantly reflecting on what you’ve learned, what actions you’ve taken, and why.
What activities or achievements do you think contributed to receiving the awards?
Hirao: While the specific reasons for selection are not disclosed, the overall assessment mentioned that activities with a high degree of originality and sophistication were highly valued. I believe that leading a team across different departments in the AWS generative AI hackathon and sharing that knowledge internally set our efforts apart and we were highly evaluated as a result. Overall, I think the key was clearly demonstrating how we could deliver high-quality AWS-based systems to our clients, promote AWS within the company, and make AWS more appealing to those around us, and explaining why we pursued these goals.
Taniguchi: Being selected as an AWS Jr. Champion implies potential for taking on new challenges, such as aiming to be an AWS Top Engineer, or even AWS Ambassador. I believe I was recognized for showing that potential. It’s not just about using AWS; it’s about considering how I could influence others with AWS, how I contributed to expanding AWS business, and making an impact based on those actions.
Sticker awarded to AWS Top Engineers
How do you plan to apply these accolades to your work in the future?
Hirao: I believe the value of our solution engineer (SE) work is directly tied to the strength of our organization. I feel this award recognized that. I plan to leverage the award by promoting the ‘Why SoftBank?’ aspect when reselling AWS to corporate clients, and by sharing the AWS Top Engineer mindset and practices within the company. This will help us train new AWS talent and eventually bring more AWS Top Engineers to SoftBank. Personally, I aim to keep learning and interact with other AWS Top Engineers and AWS Ambassadors from different companies, with the ultimate goal of becoming SoftBank’s first AWS Ambassador.
Taniguchi: The biggest advantage of being an AWS Jr. Champion is gaining access to an exclusive community of certified individuals. I look forward to sharpening my AWS skills while collaborating with AWS Jr. Champions from other companies. I plan to share my knowledge within my organization and improve the quality of AWS services we offer. Additionally, I hope to become a role model for young engineers, inspiring them to strive to be AWS Jr. Champions, even if they start off with no IT experience as with my case. Through these activities, I’m looking to follow in Hirao’s footsteps to become the next AWS Top Engineer.
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(Posted on August 23, 2024, Original Article Posted on July 17, 2024)
by SoftBank News Editors