Amazon is one of the best companies to be TPM at. We will learn later in this chapter why that is. The interview format for Amazon is quite different from other giant technology companies.

Variations of (T)PM in Amazon

There are a lot of products at Amazon, and each product has several teams working on it. On most of these teams, there is at least one TPM. These teams may vary from devices, services, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and marketing departments.

Amazon TPMs take on different responsibilities depending on the situation, and this varies across teams and programs. Also, this role ranges from Program Manager to Technical Architect, based on need. They work as the glue between different groups such as product, engineering, design, etc. As we know, the bread and butter for the role are to get things done and deliver them.

Growth in Amazon

From a growth perspective, Amazon is the best company for TPM because

  • You will have the choice to grow as an individual contributor, as a TPM team lead, or to a higher management position.

  • Amazon is the only big company that supports the transition to Software Development manager organically.

  • Transitions to more technical roles such as SDE are less common as there are more differences between the TPM and SDE skill sets, while TPM is closer to an SDM role.

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