Craig has over thirty years of experience in the software industry. His journey began at Microsoft as a full-time employee. He initially served as a Software Design Engineer in Test (SDE-T), responsible for creating code to test assemblers and compilers, including the Microsoft Macro Assembler and C/C++ compilers, among others. He felt a compelling desire to serve the customer in a larger way and own more of the product, so he transitioned into software project management. He once held a Project Management Professional PMP® certification.
Craig’s career includes diverse experiences. Over the years, he has been a project manager, senior program manager, senior product manager, and senior technical program manager in full-time positions at Microsoft (21 years), Amazon (6.5 years) and two startups. He has also applied his PM skills to create programs within the unique constraints that non-profit organizations face. He worked as an individual contributor and demonstrated leadership by building and managing effective engineering teams, one team had thirteen direct reports. He is adept at managing both on-shore and off-shore engineering teams, showcasing his ability to navigate the complexities of distributed teams. On a personal level he has been through layoffs due to financial issues at the start-ups where he worked. Layoffs can be difficult, but Craig knows what it takes to get back on your feet and move your career forward after a layoff.
Notably, Craig possesses technical chops, particularly in the realm of AI/ML programs. He has led these programs from their ambiguous inception through successful production deployments and operations (aka: ML Ops). He has worked directly with data scientists, research scientists and additional engineering roles to train and deploy state-of-the-art machine learning models and related applications to production that met business goals. Also, he loves the Python programming language (just ask him!). He has been writing code in Python since 2015. He has written code in Python to train existing AI/ML models and has created his own models - both of which had been deployed to production and met business goals.
He has been a career coach at the companies where he worked. He has helped people achieve their career aspirations – whether it is helping others increase their skills to grow horizontally or to get promoted.
Based on these diverse experiences, Craig started his own career coaching company focused on tech PMs. He genuinely wants to help people advance their careers in software project, program, and product management. More information about his professional experience can be found on LinkedIn.
"I had the pleasure of meeting with Craig recently to discuss my career goals, and I was greatly impressed. Craig is incredibly organized and comes well-prepared for every meeting. He has a calm demeanor and a systematic approach to his coaching.
He unravels our talents by asking questions - "Socratic method". He creates a personal plan and helps us find the right career profile. He is resourceful, and proficient in his area of expertise. Thank you, Craig, for being a great Coach!"
"…Craig is also a strong mentor and coach. He has helped many of our team members, his colleagues and his managers to build out new skills which has inspired some of us to pursue new directions in our careers."
Craig is "1) incredibly knowledgeable around the intersection between product, program and technology, as well as deploying different methods to scale or build lasting solutions, 2) steadfastness around developing and executing against a vision and building the right capabilities and buy-in to support it (despite pressure to cut corners or compromise for speed, he always built the right long-term solution), 3) exemplary organizational and project management skills, and 4) a results-oriented and methodical approach to solving problems that challenged conventional norms and thinking, and delivered better solutions.".
"…He is also a good mentor helping out aspiring product managers with tips/tricks in managing timelines, expectations and prioritizing requirements."
"…One of the best things about Craig is his willingness to mentor others and offer advice. I've learned a lot from him."
"Craig was one of my mentors at Amazon during his time as a Sr Product Manager, Technical at Amazon. During my interaction with him, Craig played an instrumental part in helping me grow in my current BI role as well as in helping me develop an understanding about the Product Management job family. He had a very forward leaning approach to mentorship and provided me with all possible resources to help me grow some of the skillset in the field."
See LinkedIn for additional, full and verified testimonials.
I spoke at Applied AI for Product Management. I presented "Build Products that Contain AI".
I presented "Build Products that Contain AI" at the Seattle Deep Learning Meetup.
I was a quoted expert in a Plaky project management software article. The article discusses mastering the differences between program management and product management roles and different types of stakeholder interactions.
Plaky offers free task and project management software for team collaboration.
I was featured several times in a Lensa article for my insights regarding "What You Need to Know to Nail Your Interview Follow-Up Timing."
The Lensa site has millions of daily users. Lensa uses machine learning to instantly match talent with the best opportunities and empower smarter career decisions.
I was featured several times in a Plaky project management article for my insights on project action items. Action items are a method to improve project communication, accountability and time management.
Plaky offers free task and project management software for team collaboration.
My expertise was featured in an article from Chron about "Measuring project success: 8 key metrics and how to track them." This article discusses how to measure the success of growth projects for your small business using quantitative and qualitative metrics.
This article was published by Chron, a local news source serving more than 6 million unique readers a month in Houston and the surrounding region.
Check out this article from Chron where I share my insights on
"8 common challenges in project management and how to overcome them."
This article was published by Chron, a local news source serving more than 6 million unique readers a month in Houston and the surrounding region.
I am grateful to contribute to an article published by Chron about
"8 project management trends for SMBs in 2024." This article explores the top project management trends for small businesses, such as AI, to improve project outcomes.
This article was published by Chron, a local news source serving more than 6 million unique readers a month in Houston and the surrounding region.
I was a guest on Imran's Podcast where he discusses a variety of tech topics.
In this episode, we discussed:
- My career transition from a technical role to program and product management
- Navigating a career in AI product management
- Practical tips to leverage AI tools to advance your PM career
- Ethical considerations in AI-driven products
- The impact of AI on the job market today
I was a guest on Hannah Clark's The Product Manager podcast.
We discussed topics that PMs, executives, and entrepreneurs need to think about when working across borders. Topics include having a global mindset to build cross-cultural products and managing international engineering teams.
Links:
🔹 Apple
🔹 Spotify
I spoke at 1 Million Cups Seattle.
My topic - How to Attract Customers: Gain Visibility Through Media Exposure.
This talk was useful for anyone wanting to start a business or side hustle (one of the services I offer).
Links:
🔹 Youtube
I'm passionate about empowering Tech PMs, and I'd love to bring my experience to your team. I offer engaging talks on a range of relevant topics, including:
- AI Product Management, from envisioning through release. Explore the unique challenges of incorporating AI into your products.
- Learn proven strategies to navigate your Tech PM career journey and reach leadership positions.
- Craft a resume that gets noticed and discover effective techniques to land your dream job.
- Master the interview process with confidence-boosting tips and practice strategies.
What’s the best email to contact you so you can schedule time for us to meet?
Tech PM Career Path, LLC
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