#43: How AI is Impacting the PM - Engineer Relationship | Irene Yu (Founder & CEO @ Skiplevel)
Welcome to another episode of Supra Insider. This time, Marc and Ben sat down with Irene Yu, founder and CEO of Skiplevel, professional training designed to teach PMs how to become more technical without learning to code. In this conversation, they explored Irene’s journey from Amazon engineer to entrepreneur, the communication challenges between PMs and engineers, and how Skiplevel is helping mitigate those challenges. They also discussed the rise of AI features in product development, exploring how PMs can handle edge cases, learn critical AI concepts, and avoid the dreaded "demo trap." Irene also revealed how she used AI to build a personalized therapist and life coach. This episode is packed with valuable takeaways for PMs, engineers, and product leaders looking to level up their collaboration and technical skills.All episodes of the podcast are also available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.New to the pod? Subscribe below to get the next episode in your inbox 👇To support the podcast, please check out the links below:* Preparing for a PM interview with tech companies like Meta and Google? Check out Ben's course for Product Sense and Analytical Thinking PM interviews (selected by Lenny Rachitsky as a Top Course in Product on Maven 🔥) and the standalone AI Copilot for practice. Supra Insider listeners get 10% off the course with promo code “suprainsider”. Upcoming cohorts: February 4-16, March 4-16.* Want to connect with product leaders like you? Check out Supra, an invite-only community with 350+ product leaders. You'll get matched with a group of 6-8 carefully vetted individuals and participate in a monthly session facilitated by a world-class coach. Last year, members reported solving their top product challenges 3x faster through these sessions. Plus, tap into our vibrant Slack community for "behind closed doors" topics, join exclusive speaker events with industry pioneers, and connect at intimate roundtables and in-person meetups.In this episode, we covered the following topics:* Irene’s motivation for founding Skip Level and her experiences onboarding PMs at Amazon* The communication breakdowns that often occur between PMs and engineers* Why technical onboarding is crucial for effective product teams* Irene's FAIR framework for approaching technical discussions with engineering teams (Feasibility, Alternate Solutions, Impact, Risk Mitigation)* The rise of AI features in product development and their implications on PM responsibilities* Fun insights into using AI for personal growth, including personalized therapy and coaching* And much more!If you’d like to watch the video of our conversation, you can catch that on YouTube:Links:* Irene Yu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamireneyu/* Skiplevel: https://www.skiplevel.co/* Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/* Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaselga/If you enjoyed this conversation, please share it with a friend or colleague 👇Also, if you’re a new subscriber, we encourage you to check out some of the recent episodes you might have missed:And here are some less recent favorites: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suprainsider.substack.com