The Early Days of Platform Engineering at Spotify

This week we spoke with Nils Loodin, Platform Product Manager at Spotify. Nils describes how his role in platform product management works, including unique challenges, approaches, and career considerations. Nils also discusses some of the recent changes within Spotify's platform organization, including shifting teams from tech-centric to journey-centric. 

Discussion points:

• (1:30) How Nils came into his role
• (3:59) How “developer experience” came into the picture at Spotify
• (5:30) How the Platform team is structured
• (8:52) Unique challenges of the Platform PM role
• (12:51) Defining the Platform PM’s focus
• (16:39) Staying close to their customers
• (21:09) Optimal background for someone in this role
• (24:43) Attracting PMs into Platform roles
• (29:40) How it is that Spotify’s leadership invests in developer experience
• (31:19) How a recent reorg shifted Platform’s focus 
• (41:29) Improving onboarding for mobile engineers
• (47:33) Measuring onboarding 

Mentions and links:

• Connect with Nils on LinkedIn
• The product management discipline in platform teams | Russ Nealis (Plaid)
• Spotify’s Engineering blog