About me:I'm a creative, cross-functional, curious person with an educational background in Computer Science + Cognitive Science and a professional background in coding + managing teams, products, and programs.I like driving, exploring, co-op gaming, eating any cuisine, philosophical discourse with pragmatic follow-ups, and Oxford commas. My favorite color is #445566.Leading with empathy:My superpower is empathizing with teammates and customers to foster inclusive and constructive environments whether I’m an individual contributor, manager, partner, or stakeholder. In such environments, I mentor people to operate in their “zone of proximal development” by cultivating opportunities that balance between autonomy and hands-on coaching. Sometimes that includes difficult conversations, but always in a way that is motivating and growth-oriented for the individual, myself, and relevant peers.Role evolution: Below is a quick recap of my journey from start-up co-founder and programmer to engineering manager and product manager.2009-2014: As an engineer at multiple fast-paced startups, I built website frontends, backends, cloud infrastructure, IT application integrations, native iOS apps, native Android apps, and build-release automation. Always with a Unix-based environment (bash+tmux+vim!).2014-2021: As an engineering manager, I led and grew teams building and operating Amazon’s global-scale distributed systems, as well as e-commerce experiences. This built on my prior startup experience where I transitioned to a senior leadership role managing development teams creating apps for well-known e-commerce brands.2021-present: As a technical product manager at AWS, I contribute to cutting-edge database technology by collaborating with internal customers (SDMs, PEs, GMs, VPs) and external customers (developers, CTOs, CIOs). I work closely with 5 PEs and 8 SDMs aligned with engineering teams as we build new database technology that will revolutionize global-scale customer workloads.