Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: Are you currently employed, why are you looking for a new role, and when are you expecting to transition?
Yes, I am currently employed at Amazon and have been since March 2020 (5+ years). My wife and I got married in 2024, and we’ve aligned that our desire is to be closer to family in the Denver area as we begin the next chapter of our lives—buying a home and starting a family of our own. While I would love to continue working for Amazon, it’s uncertain whether I can retain my current role while working from the Denver office. I am actively discussing this possibility with my leadership, but in parallel, I am exploring other opportunities. I find my current role both challenging and fulfilling, and I have a great manager. However, if it comes down to choosing between staying at Amazon or living closer to family, my priority will be my family. There isn’t a strict deadline for finding a job, but my wife and I plan to move to Denver sometime in 2025—ideally sooner rather than later.
Q2: What types of roles are you considering?
I am primarily targeting Principal or Senior-level Technical Product roles focused on Supply Chain Systems, as this best aligns with my expertise and interests. Beyond that, I am also open to Principal or Senior-level Technical Product roles in broader technology domains. Additionally, I am considering Director, Senior Manager, or Program Manager positions with a focus on supply chain areas such as procurement, logistics, operations, and transportation. While my preference is for technical product roles, I am also open to non-technical product roles if they align with my skills and offer the right opportunity.
Additionally, I would consider consulting roles, provided that travel is limited to less than 25%. I am open to remote, hybrid, or in-office roles within 50 miles of the Denver metropolitan area and am flexible between Individual Contributor and People Management positions.
Q3: What type of Industries are you considering?
I have experience across multiple industries, including grocery, retail, e-commerce, technology, manufacturing, transportation, and medical devices. My primary interest lies in solving complex problems within these spaces, particularly in supply chain domains. I am also interested in SaaS products for both B2B and B2C markets.
Q4: What are you looking for in a new role?
Beyond a competitive salary and benefits, my top priorities in a new role are challenging and meaningful work, autonomy and ownership, opportunities for career growth, and strong management and leadership. I find that I am most fulfilled in a job when these aspects are present.
Q5: Can you explain your current scope of role at Amazon?
I own the Amazon Grocery Supply Chain systems, though I spend most of my time within the Ordering and P2P systems. This includes In-Stock Manager-facing dashboards, team member-facing web applications, and mobile applications (hosted on Honeywell CT60 devices). These tools support approximately $21.1 billion in customer sales, drive cost-reduction initiatives that yield annual savings of $20–50 million, and provide essential functionality for Amazon Grocery businesses, including Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and Amazon Go.
My customers are the end users, including Whole Foods team members in stores, DC & Retail Operations, DC purchasing, and In-Stock teams, spanning across five VPs on the Whole Foods side. On the Amazon tech side, my team, Grocery Supply Chain Tech (GSC), consists of Software Developers, Software Development Managers (SDMs), Technical Program Managers (TPMs), and Technical Product Managers (PMTs). I operate in a hybrid role across PMT, TPM, and SDM functions.
I lead the development of a three-year roadmap by producing 3YR plans, Press Release Frequently Asked Questions (PRFAQs), Business and Product Requirements Documents (BRDs), and supporting technical scoping and architectural planning through High-Level and Low-Level Designs. I also oversee User Acceptance Testing (UAT), participate in SCRUM and sprint planning with engineering teams, and coordinate technology rollouts, ensuring seamless integration into business operations. My role serves as the glue across the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), bridging business stakeholders, senior leadership, and engineering teams to guide technical delivery from requirements to deployment.
Q6: What does a day in the life of a Product Manager look like in your current role?
My day-to-day work varies based on where we are in the product development lifecycle for a given feature. I manage a portfolio of 10-15 major projects, each with a complex set of features. On any given day, I might be demoing a feature to business stakeholders, creating training materials for end users, writing requirements for an upcoming initiative, building UX mocks in Figma, putting together analysis via SQL queries out of Data Warehouses, or drafting a tradeoff document to align stakeholders on a problem and recommend a path forward.
During the design phase, I ensure that the design meets business requirements and provide feedback on components or services that can be leveraged. If we are piloting a feature, I focus on troubleshooting issues, identifying root causes, and working with engineers to deploy fixes while minimizing store impact. Regardless of the phase, my work consistently involves collaboration with business teams, developers, and senior leaders across Amazon and Whole Foods. Additionally, most days require a mix of highly technical writing and conceptual documentation to ensure end users and customers clearly understand what to expect from an upcoming launch.
Ultimately, my role is about ensuring we are solving the right problem with the right technology, that engineers have a deep understanding of the requirements to build an effective solution, and that we successfully release scalable, value-added features that drive revenue, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency.
Q7: Describe your leadership style and how you manage employees?
I would describe my leadership style as structured yet flexible
Structured: I focus on establishing and following well-defined processes to approach work methodically. For example, I firmly believe that every feature, regardless of its size, must have a business requirements document (BRD) with formal sign-off from stakeholders. When working with SDMs or SDEs, I emphasize the importance of setting clear timelines for milestones such as design, implementation, QA testing, UAT, and pilot phases. These mechanisms ensure transparency with stakeholders and accountability for both product and engineering teams.
When changes arise that affect the roadmap or the timelines of associated features or products, I require the creation of a trade-off document. This document outlines the options, assesses their impact, gathers stakeholder feedback, and facilitates a group decision rather than leaving it to an individual. Additionally, I ensure we have at least bi-weekly written program reviews and meetings with stakeholders. These sessions provide a platform for stakeholders to voice concerns, share feedback, and make recommendations to guide the project in the right direction. Artifacts like these are essential for product management, as they help ensure we build and deliver what the customer truly needs.
Flexible: While I value structure, I also believe in providing my team with autonomy. My goal is to equip my team with the tools and resources they need to succeed without micromanaging their work. I aim to be the person my stakeholders and team members want to involve in solving problems—not someone they feel obligated to include.
When challenges arise, I expect team members to analyze the situation, propose potential solutions, and present their perspective on the best course of action. This collaborative approach encourages critical thinking and debate while fostering ownership. At the same time, I hold employees accountable for the deadlines they commit to. If dates are missed, they are communicated and documented, along with actions to get the project back on track.
I operate as a servant leader with the following principles:
Empathy: I prioritize understanding the needs and concerns of my team members.
Selflessness: My growth comes from building up and motivating my team. If help is needed, I will work alongside them to resolve challenges.
Empowerment: I provide employees with the resources and guidance they need to work autonomously and deliver results.
Humility: I foster open communication, encourage feedback, and actively recognize and showcase my team’s achievements.
Commitment to Growth: I am dedicated to the personal and professional development of my team. I strive to identify what excites them, provides opportunities for growth, and aligns with their sense of purpose and fulfillment.
By balancing structure with flexibility, I aim to create an environment where both the team and stakeholders can succeed while maintaining a focus on transparency, collaboration, and growth.
Q8: How do you approach working in an ambiguous & fast paced environment?
The past five years at Amazon have been nothing short of fast-paced. I’ve contributed to building supply chains under tight timelines, negotiating contracts with urgency, and launching supply chain applications under strict time constraints. Throughout my career, I’ve learned that solving problems often comes down to effectively leveraging people, processes, or technology. In fast-paced environments, tradeoffs among these elements are inevitable. From a product perspective, this means prioritizing P0, P1, and P2 requirements, gathering customer feedback early, and iterating quickly using Agile methodologies.
Soft skills are equally critical in such environments. I rely on a bias for action, making informed decisions without waiting for 100% of the data or requirements, earning trust with my team and stakeholders, and deeply understanding customer needs upfront. At a future employer, I would use my product management toolset—including BRDs, three-year strategic planning, customer feedback loops, and data analysis—to navigate challenges and drive results. When faced with a problem, I first attempt to resolve it independently or with available resources. If additional support is required, I escalate appropriately to involve leadership or secure the resources and talent necessary to address the issue effectively