About

Lena Morita is a software developer who is passionate about the open web. As a Senior Software Engineer at Automattic, she strives to build applications that are well-architected, inclusive, and performant. She particularly enjoys crafting experiences that are delightful for both the developer and the end user. In the past, she was a designer for nearly a decade in both print and UI/UX. She also proudly served as a Director (2018–2021) for the Tokyo chapter of Women Who Code, helping grow a vibrant, international community of women in tech.

Speaking

• “覚醒するアクセシビリティ (Awakened by Accessibility)” — How discovering the principles of accessibility made me realize that I was born to build things for the web.
  • Web Engineer Meetup #09 (5 min) — Slides
  • WordCamp Tokyo 2019 (45 min) — Slides | Video
  • JSConf Japan 2019 (30 min) — Slides
• “グローバル・リモート業務を支える技術とUI (The Tech/UI Behind a Globally Remote Operation)” Video | Podcast — When your globally distributed organization is one of the largest in the world, you sometimes find that existing work tools do not meet your needs.
• “押せばわかる Bluetoothボタンの世界 (The World of Bluetooth Buttons)” — Exploring the UX properties of IoT buttons, and the things I’ve built for them.
• “High Context, Low Context: Scalable communication in a distributed organization” — Thoughtfully scaling communication can unlock the full potential of remote work.
• “Your Typing Sucks: A Pianist’s Approach to the (Computer) Keyboard” Video | Slides — Talk version of my articles (Japanese | English) on applying piano practice techniques to the computer keyboard, delivered at Nerd Nite Tokyo.
• “The Future of Innovation and Design Thinking” — Dialogue with John Maeda about inclusion in the Japanese tech industry.
• “Learning a Language by Ear” — Maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of your flashcards by using evidence-based techniques and software.
• “Building Dev Skills While Staying at Your Current Job” — How people pursuing a career change into software development can gain practical experience before making the leap.

Writing

• “名前付け大全 – 英語の壁の克服 (All About Naming Things – Overcoming the English Barrier)” – A featured article in the web dev magazine WEB+DB PRESS, where I elaborate on the English-specific concerns of naming things.
• “社会が見える英単語 (English Vocabulary as a Window into Society)” – A column in the pop philosophy magazine New Q, that looks into modern social issues through English keywords that are unfamiliar to the Japanese.

Elsewhere on the internet

• Christmas Albums on Tumblr, where I force myself to listen to dozens of random Christmas albums every December.
• Sad Lattes on Tumblr, where I try to get better at pouring latte art.
• Travel tweets, my personal travelogue in tweet form.
• Japanese Language Stack Exchange, where I answered 100+ questions from non-natives about the intricacies of the Japanese language.