I’m still learning about what being an APM means, and from what I can tell it means different things for different projects. From what I understand now, the position can best be summarized as an individual whose responsibility is to guide an idea from inception into a successful and helpful product that can be used by millions.

The position is largely strategic and requires an understanding of the market that the product exists in as well as how users might respond to particular design decisions. A large number (if not all) of the product managers at Google are technical and are expected to be able to communicate well with engineers as well as non-technical clients.

The group of APM interns for the summer is relatively small and I’m looking forward to meeting others who share an interest in the things that I do. I think that this position is going to open my mind to the challenges of the product lifecycle and hopefully prepare me for a future in technical leadership. Either that or help me realize that I want nothing to do with it (but I don’t think that’s the case!).