Towfiqa Yasmeen: Working at the heart of Redpanda

If you want a chance to work at the heart of a company, my advice is to become a Product Manager (PM). 

My name is Towfiqa Yasmeen and I’ve been part of the Product team at Redpanda for just over 18 months. Forbes recently named Redpanda one of the next billion-dollar startups, so as you can imagine, getting a company to this point takes a monumental lift. As a PM, it’s definitely a challenge, but it’s also the most Towfiqa Yasmeen I’ve been in my whole career. 

Here’s a glimpse at what it’s like to be a product manager at Redpanda.

A day in the life of a product manager

There isn’t really a typical “day in the life of a product manager.” The role can be very different depending on the organization’s mission and the goals of the product, but there are always commonalities. Cross-functional alignment, prioritization, customer requirements, and many, many, many meetings. 

PMs work with the product from start to finish. We start with product discovery, answering questions like, “Who needs this?” “Why do they need this?” and, “What is the business opportunity?” 

To get these answers, we dive into the market and look at the trends and forces at work, both technical and financial. Then, we follow up with customers to understand their business’s specific needs. Sometimes, we have to play detective when the customer tells us their needs because they’re really only describing their symptoms. It’s our job to get to the root cause of those symptoms. You can take Advil for your headache, but PMs want to pinpoint what caused the headache in the first place. This phase is crucial in making sure we build the right thing. 

Next, we switch to execution mode. The PM writes up a PRD (Product Requirements Definition) that discusses how to address the root cause of the customer's problem and works with engineering to build the solution. A PRD is meant to be descriptive, not prescriptive, so often, solutions are an exercise that involves engineering and product partners. Once the solution is on its way to being built, PMs will do much of the cross-functional alignment — like working with UX to nail the user experience or working with DevOps to develop the deployment strategy. Essentially ensuring the organization is ready for the product/feature being developed. 

Once the feature is delivered by engineering we move into my favorite phase: Go-To-Market (GTM). This is my favorite because, first of all, I get to shout out all the people who made it happen. I’m a team-building PM and I love nothing more than bringing people together to get things done. Teamwork makes the dream work! 

Secondly, I get to make a difference in the lives of my customers. Because now they have access to capabilities that they didn’t before. Ultimately this sort of day-to-day helps product managers ensure that we build products that are successful, relevant, and competitive.

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Why Redpanda?

It’s simple: I’m doing some of the best work of my career here, and I’m not alone. When I talk to my colleagues, they echo the same sentiment. At Redpanda, you're hired as a subject matter expert (SME) because we value your expertise and the unique experiences you bring. Your voice truly matters here, and you can see the tangible impact of your work every day. That's how our people become the real differentiator for Redpanda. In a competitive space with major players, our talent sets us apart.

Secondly, Redpanda fosters a culture built on respect and trust. From day one, you’re trusted to make the right decisions and given the respect to do so. I have the confidence of my team to do great work without needing to constantly prove my worth. This kind of environment has allowed me to take on projects that I never would have had the chance to tackle at previous companies. Here, individual contributors are truly empowered to take ownership, make bold decisions, and grow.

Redpanda thrives on openness to new ideas and exploring different approaches. If you see an opportunity for a new process or a change that could improve the business, you’ll have the full support of your team and leadership to make it happen. We don't believe in sticking to the status quo just because "everyone else is doing it." This spirit of innovation is embedded in the people at Redpanda and reflected in the products we create. Every day feels like it's full of new possibilities.

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Want to join us? We’re hiring

Redpanda allows me to show up in a way that is authentic to myself. I get to work with a group of great humans that allow me to bring as much (or as little) of myself to work each day. This is what I meant when I said this is the most Towfiqa Yasmeen I’ve ever been. At Redpanda we care about the work, we care about each other, and we care about our customers. As a product manager, I get to be at the center of it all.

If this all sounds like the perfect fit for you and your own career goals, check out Redpanda Careers! We’d love to welcome you.