- Any Questions?
- 080-4710-6006
- engage@ipl.university
Manasa GN –Technical Product Manager, Kenvue
Hello, I’m Manasa. I spent ten years as a full-stack developer, building and delivering software. Over time, I kept wondering what comes before engineering and what comes after. That curiosity about the full product lifecycle led me into product management. Today I work at Kenvue as a technical product manager and also do product evangelism.
In this blog, I’ll share how I moved from a technical role to a product leadership role. I’ll cover why I made the change, how I prepared, and the lessons I learnt for anyone planning a similar path.
For a decade, my world was code. I focused on building, deploying, and maintaining software solutions. I enjoyed it, but during hackathons, I often found myself thinking about the bigger picture. “Why are we getting this problem to be solved? Who is giving us the problem, and what happens after we do any work?” I felt I was missing the strategic decisions, user insights, and business goals that shaped our engineering tasks. I wanted to see the full journey from raw idea to delivered product.
Hackathons played a big role. They showed me I was good at solving problems but I wanted to help define them too. I wanted to see their broader impact. “That triggered me to understand the whole ecosystem before engineering and after engineering.”
After ten years in one track, I also wanted to grow into “leadership roles” where I could influence product direction, innovation, and ultimately, user value. Not just a management title, but a role where I could influence product direction and user value. I saw that “product management is majorly focused more on how the innovative product comes into the picture by solving a problem,” and that was the kind of impact I wanted to make.
I knew I needed structure. Self-paced courses were not enough for me. I chose a “tailored course, especially” because, as I saw it, “it’s not like you will have a lot of online courses where you have to spend your own time understanding and doing the learnings, but having a dedicated tailored course makes you more dedicated and disciplined, especially in this world.” It helped me build a product mindset, which was instrumental in helping me “grow in product leadership” and apply it to real work, not just theory.
My learning experience was made more enjoyable by the emphasis on “problem-solving and user experience”. These classes were “helpful for you to prepare yourself for a better world.” I discovered how to tackle problems from a different angle after realising that “everything is viewed as a product in this world, right? It could be a human or a service. Thus, this course truly helps us develop those kinds of mindsets, and the entire experience in the customised course assisted us in addressing that.” This change in perspective gave me a flexible framework that I could use for any kind of product or service.
My learning journey was truly “amazing”. It felt like the best parts of “student life” or “college life”. The program fostered incredible networking opportunities. “If you are more interested in networking and understanding the world better, this helps to grow in networking because networking is not only for learning, it will also be helpful for your own survival skills.” Building relationships with peers and mentors broadened my view on the sector and provided me with invaluable insights, fostering an environment that was conducive to my growth.
In my current position, I am a Kenvue Technical Product Manager and I am also responsible for product evangelism. I am able to connect my deep technical background and newly acquired product leadership by combining them. I apply the product mindset to everything I do by ensuring that value adding, cutting-edge ideas really resolve the pain points of the users and also serve the business objectives at a strategic level. My transition has been characterized by the ability to manage without positional authority, lead with a growth mindset, and advocate for the user experience. Kenvue has helped me greatly to “grow in the product and also in the leadership roles.”
It is the freedom of personally driven and transformational learning that has impressed me most and etched a mark in my memory as the strongest. The program did not stop at equipping me with certain capabilities. It has cultivated a “growth mindset, the learner mindset,” and has strengthened my “resilience pattern.” “Leadership skills really help us to live better in this world,” and “not only in the profession but also in personal life.”
Your help is highly appreciated, but “for me, the stronger your recommendation is, the less I will rely on your recommendation.” It is no different. It simply makes this very clear:
My advice to anyone considering a similar transition is clear:
As per the State of Product Management Annual Report, “The demand for product managers is projected to grow by 20% in the next five years, indicating a robust career path for those who transition into this field.”
My transition from a full-stack developer to the position of a Technical Product Manager at Kenvue reflects the strength of inquisitiveness, planned learning, and constant discipline. Adopting the product mindset has not just brought me new professional opportunities but has also provided me with the skills of leadership and life which are priceless. If you are willing to develop yourself, to be a leader, and to really grasp the “why” & ” what’s next” behind every product, this route is very gratifying.
Manasa GN is a technical product manager and product evangelist at Kenvue. She was a full-stack developer for 10 years. In her new role, she blends technical depth with strategic product leadership. Manasa is focusing on problem-solving, user experience, and enabling the product-centric mindset to pull in innovation and expansion. She is a practitioner of lifelong learning and credits a clear career vision for her transformation.
