Beyond The Build
Beyond The Build is a podcast about the real, unfiltered experiences of being a software engineer. Hosted by two seasoned engineers, Uma and Ope, we dive into the highs, the lows, and everything in between—from career growth and technical challenges to work-life balance and industry insights. Whether you're an aspiring developer or a seasoned pro, join us as we explore the parts of tech that don’t get talked about enough.
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Beyond The Build
EP13: Inside the Mind of a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft
Product managers wear a lot of hats—but what do they actually do?
In this episode of Beyond the Build, we sit down with our first-ever guest: Thien-Y Le, a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, to get the unfiltered truth about one of tech's most misunderstood roles.
Thien-Y walks us through the real work of a PM—from balancing customer demands with business goals to managing relationships with engineers. We dig into what it takes to build a roadmap, why product managers are sometimes called “mini-CEOs,” and whether PMs really need to know how to code.
We also talk about the joys of bringing a product to life, the pain of navigating conflicting priorities, and the behind-the-scenes decisions that rarely get airtime.
Whether you’re an engineer curious about what PMs do in all those meetings, or a PM looking to feel seen, this episode gives you a candid look at product management inside one of the world’s biggest tech companies.