Rohin Chandra (Product Manager, Microsoft)

Rohin discusses transitioning from engineering to product management, mastering communication, the surprising importance of writing as a PM, and more!

Roshan Chandna

Jan 07, 2025

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Guest Profile:

Interview Guest: Rohin Chandra (LinkedIn)

Role: Product Manager II at Microsoft

Previous: Before working on growth-hacking and performance & quality initiatives on Elastic SAN, Rohin was an engineer at Microsoft, where he contributed to Viva Glint, working on projects such as building a Copilot to help users interpret the results of surveys with hundreds of thousands of responses, enabling actionable insights at scale.

Roshan’s favorite quotes from the interview:

On the importance of communication: “What stood out to me is how a good PM adapts their communication style based on their audience. The way you explain an idea to an engineer might be very different from how you’d present it to someone in sales. Great PMs are skilled at this kind of code-switching; they can tailor their message to resonate with whoever they’re working with.”
On transitioning from engineering to product management: “As an engineer, you’re often trained to spot holes in product specs and push back on things that may not be feasible. Your mindset is very focused on constraints and problem-solving within those boundaries. As a PM, your perspective needs to shift. Your focus is on identifying the right problems to solve for the customer and determining how to address them.”
On developing skills for the role: “Beyond that, I’d focus on developing the core skills of a good PM: communication, writing, and clarity of thought. These are things you can start working on right now, even as an engineer, without needing the title of product manager.”
On delivering impact: “I’d say the most impactful thing you can be doing as a PM is figuring out what will generate the most value for the company — whether that’s revenue, customer retention, or something else. That should always guide your decision-making.”
On positioning yourself as an internal PM candidate: “If you’re serious about becoming a product manager, you have to actively seek out and embrace opportunities, even if they stretch your time or capacity. Showing initiative and taking on real PM work is the best way to position yourself for the role.”

Roshan: Thanks for joining me Rohin! To start, can you tell us a bit about your role as a PM at Microsoft? What does your day-to-day look like?

Rohin: Absolutely, and thanks for having me! I work in Azure on a cloud storage product called Elastic SAN (Storage Area Network). Our product essentially provides block storage at scale, which is particularly valuable for organizations running numerous applications that need reliable data storage. Instead of purchasing individual storage solutions for each application, customers can use our product to consolidate their storage needs and optimize costs.
Elastic SAN is a highly technical product with an equally technical customer base. Our users typically include DevOps engineers, SREs, and database administrators. As a PM for this product, my primary responsibility is to drive revenue growth. In practice, this means working closely with customers and customer support teams to understand their main pain points and then collaborating with engineering to design solutions that address those challenges.
I also partner with marketing to promote new launches and keep customers informed about updates, and I work with the sales team to close deals by joining customer calls to address any concerns they may have. These responsibilities align with the standard expectations for a PM role.
What’s unique at Microsoft, particularly with a product like Elastic SAN, is the criticality of our solutions. Many customers rely on our product for their mission-critical applications, so if an incident occurs — such as downtime in their storage — it’s a big deal. Part of my role involves ensuring swift and effective communication with customers during such incidents and making sure the issues are promptly prioritized by our engineering team. This responsiveness is crucial to maintaining customer trust and satisfaction.

Roshan: I know you started your career as an engineer and recently transitioned into product management, what motivated you to make that change?

Rohin: Ultimately, I see product management as more of a business-oriented role, and I wanted to dive deeper into solving business problems. Questions like, “How do we grow our customer base?” and “How do we ensure customers stick with our product?” really intrigue me. As an engineer, I didn’t feel I had enough exposure to those types of challenges.
Another factor was the multidisciplinary nature of product management. When I was an engineer, my days were fairly routine — I’d fix a bug or work on a feature, but the overall structure of my work didn’t vary much. In product management, the type of thinking I do can be vastly different from day to day. Some days are highly technical, while others are focused on building social connections, talking with customers, or solving more emotionally driven challenges. That variety really appealed to me.

Roshan: That makes a lot of sense, I’m also drawn to product management for some of those same reasons. How did your experience as a software engineer shape your perspective on what makes a great product manager?

Rohin: My time as an engineer gave me a lot of insight into the role of a product manager, and one of the biggest takeaways was the importance of communication. Engineers need clear direction — what to do, when to do it, and why it matters. This principle applies to all the other teams a PM works with, like sales, marketing, and customer support.
But what stood out to me is how a good PM adapts their communication style based on their audience. The way you explain an idea to an engineer might be very different from how you’d present it to someone in sales. Great PMs are skilled at this kind of code-switching; they can tailor their message to resonate with whoever they’re working with.
I also learned that great PMs have strong conviction in their ideas. They keep the team laser-focused on solving the most important problems. You’ll always have people suggesting different priorities, and while it’s important to be open-minded and evaluate those ideas, once you’ve determined the right course of action, you need to guide the team with confidence. Staying focused and avoiding distractions is crucial to making meaningful progress.

Roshan: Those are valuable qualities for a PM to have. So, what strategies did you use to position yourself as an internal candidate for a PM role, especially coming from engineering?

Rohin: This can vary depending on the company and team you’re part of, but I’ll share what worked for me. The most important thing I did was build relationships with the PMs around me and ask them for work they didn’t want to do. It might sound simple, but offering to take on tasks they’re too busy for can be a great way to demonstrate your potential and get relevant experience.
Generally, the easiest way to transition into product management from engineering is within your own team. So, fostering close relationships with the PMs on your team and showing that you’re genuinely interested in helping out can open up opportunities. Even small tasks can go a long way in proving your interest and capability.
Another key strategy is to be opportunistic. In my case, I was working on a project alongside a PM who eventually left the company. I saw an opportunity and lobbied to take over the product management responsibilities for that project. That experience was invaluable — it strengthened my resume and gave me hands-on learning that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
The main takeaway here is that if you’re serious about becoming a product manager, you have to actively seek out and embrace opportunities, even if they stretch your time or capacity. Showing initiative and taking on real PM work is the best way to position yourself for the role.

Roshan: That’s great advice! Anecdotally, I’ve seen someone in my org recently follow similar strategies with success. Now, I’m sure there was an interview component when transitioning to PM. What resources or strategies did you use to prepare for those PM interviews, especially as someone coming from an engineering background?

Rohin: Product management interviews, especially at larger companies, tend to follow a specific format. You’ll often encounter similar types of questions, so the most important thing is to practice — over and over again.
One resource I found incredibly helpful was Exponent, specifically the live sessions they offer through TryExponent.com. In those sessions, someone asks you a real PM interview question, and you respond in real-time. Practicing with a live person is so much more effective than just talking to yourself in a room. It simulates the pressure and interaction of an actual interview, which helps you improve faster.
I also recommend Cracking the PM Interview. It provides a comprehensive breakdown of the types of questions you’re likely to face. Reading through it and preparing a set of stories about your experiences can give you a solid foundation. Combine that with live practice, and you’ll be well-prepared.

Roshan: Those are great resources. I’ve used some of the same myself! Now that you’ve been a PM for a while, hopefully, things have gone smoothly for the most part. But what’s been your biggest challenge in your first few months?

Rohin: One of the biggest challenges — and I think this is something many engineers transitioning to PM might relate to — is shifting the way you think. As an engineer, you’re often trained to spot holes in product specs and push back on things that may not be feasible. Your mindset is very focused on constraints and problem-solving within those boundaries.
As a PM, your perspective needs to shift. Your focus is on identifying the right problems to solve for the customer and determining how to address them. You can’t discount a customer’s issue just because the solution seems difficult to implement. The implementation details are less of your concern—your priority is ensuring the team is solving the right problem. It’s a significant mindset shift, but an essential one for success in this role.

Roshan: I know that as an engineer you had some exposure to the PM function. Now that you’re in product management, what aspects of the role have been the most surprising or unexpected for you?

Rohin: Great question. I think the most surprising thing for me has been just how much writing is involved. It’s not just about writing PRDs (Product Requirements Documents) or technical specs — it extends to all forms of communication. You’re writing blog posts for customers, updates for leadership, internal documentation, and even crafting clear messages for different teams. Writing is a constant part of the job.
If you’re looking to transition into product management from any role, honing your writing skills is incredibly valuable. Clear and effective communication — especially in writing — can make a huge difference in how well you perform as a PM. It’s a skill worth focusing on.

Roshan: I really look for communication skills when interviewing PMs — it’s so critical to our role. Shifting gears, what do you think is the biggest benefit of moving into product management with an engineering background?

Rohin: I’d say one of the biggest advantages is how much easier it is to interact with the engineering team. Having a technical background allows you to keep up with them during discussions about ideas or implementations. You understand what’s feasible and what isn’t, which is incredibly helpful during the ideation phase.
This background also gives you an edge in the more project management-focused aspects of the role. You develop a stronger intuition about risks, timelines, and implementation details. For example, when an engineer gives you an estimate, you’re better equipped to gauge whether it’s realistic or if you should build in some buffer time. That instinct can make a huge difference when planning projects.
Of course, if you don’t come from a technical background, these are skills you can absolutely learn with time and experience. But having that foundation as an engineer gives you a head start in these areas, which is a definite advantage.

Roshan: That makes sense, and it’s great that you’ve been able to bring that perspective into your PM role. If you could give one piece of advice to engineers interested in transitioning into product management, what would it be?

Rohin: My biggest piece of advice would be to first make sure this is a role you genuinely want, not just something you’re pursuing for the title. It’s important to enjoy the work of a product manager because the role comes with significantly more accountability.
As an engineer, if a feature you build doesn’t get used, it’s unfortunate, but it’s not entirely your responsibility. As a PM, however, anything that goes wrong — whether it’s a feature that doesn’t land well or a project that misses its mark — is ultimately on you. You need to be comfortable with that level of ownership and accountability.
Beyond that, I’d focus on developing the core skills of a good PM: communication, writing, and clarity of thought. These are things you can start working on right now, even as an engineer, without needing the title of product manager. Being proactive about building those skills will set you up for success when you do make the transition.

Roshan: You’ve touched on this a little bit throughout our conversation, but now that you’re in product management, what’s been your favorite part of the role?

Rohin: My favorite part has to be the freedom I have in deciding where to focus my time. It’s up to me to prioritize — whether it’s writing a spec, conducting a customer interview, or diving into some data analysis to uncover insights about why certain customers might have left us. That level of autonomy allows me to shape my day around what I think will have the biggest impact, and I really enjoy that flexibility.
I’ve also found talking to customers to be incredibly rewarding. Hearing directly from them about their challenges, figuring out if we’re the right solution, or identifying what we can change to better meet their needs has been a highlight of the role. Those conversations feel impactful and energizing, and they remind me why I wanted to transition into product management in the first place.

Roshan: I totally relate — those are two things I really enjoy about being a PM as well. Double-clicking into the first, as a PM, you often define your own work. How do you determine the most impactful tasks to focus on each day or week?

Rohin: That’s a great question, and I think it’s very situationally dependent. At larger companies, it can be a bit easier to figure out. The most impactful work tends to align closely with what the leadership team cares about. Their priorities are usually well-communicated, so it becomes more about executing on those initiatives.
At smaller companies, it’s often up to your discretion to decide what will have the biggest impact. In those cases, the focus shifts to identifying what’s going to make the company the most money or drive the most value. For example, if you’re working on proposals that don’t feel well-fleshed-out or promising, it might be better to spend your time on discovery work to uncover new opportunities instead.
If I had to boil it down, I’d say the most impactful thing you can be doing as a PM is figuring out what will generate the most value for the company — whether that’s revenue, customer retention, or something else. That should always guide your decision-making.

Roshan: Agree — there are so many ways to measure success in product management, and dollars generated is a key one. To wrap things up with some fun questions: What hobbies fill your time outside of work, and how do you stay physically and mentally fit given the high demands of your role?

Rohin: I think having a routine to stay active is really important. I enjoy going to the gym and lifting weights before work whenever I can — it helps me start the day feeling energized and focused.
In terms of hobbies, one of my favorites is playing golf. I’ve been playing since I was a kid, and it’s something I really enjoy. There’s nothing quite like being out in nature, spending time with friends, and playing a round of golf on the weekend.
I also love to read. Reading has always been one of my biggest passions — it’s something I look forward to at the end of the day. It helps me unwind and keeps my mind fresh. Between the gym, golf, and reading, I’ve found a good balance to stay both physically and mentally fit.

Roshan: That’s a great segue into my last question: Do you have any favorite books or other forms of media that have been a big influence, either in your life overall or in your work?

Rohin: I think reading and consuming media is such a personal experience — it really depends on what resonates with you. For those leaning into self-help or personal development, I’d recommend Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s a fantastic book about building and maintaining effective habits. Another one I’ve loved is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho — it’s beautifully written and deeply inspiring.
On the other hand, I also enjoy reading for fun, especially science fiction. Growing up, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card was one of my absolute favorites. It sparked my love for sci-fi and encouraged me to read more in the genre, which has been both entertaining and enriching.
Reading, whether for self-improvement or pure enjoyment, has been incredibly helpful in my life. It gives me a way to unwind and take my mind off work when things get stressful. That break keeps me refreshed and ready to tackle challenges when I return to work.

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