Hey, I'm
Justin
Pham
Product Manager who builds AI-powered products. I love taking creative ideas and turning them into reality through user research, data-driven decisions, and technical execution.
Exploring Yosemite meadows
Tapas in Barcelona
Snowy night in Central Park
About Me
the storyI'm a recent graduate from UC Irvine with a B.S. in Computer Science and Informatics, where I specialized in AI and Organization and Information Technology. I love to work at the intersection of product and engineering. After building features as a software engineer at Wonsulting, FOLN, and Neoboard, I discovered my passion for the 'why' behind what we build. This led me to product management — where I can combine technical depth with user empathy to solve real problems.
Most recently, I spent my summer at Capital One designing an AI-powered IVR system projected to save customers 55,000 hours monthly. Before that, I led Unibites through a 10-week incubator, taking it from idea to MVP with 100+ user reviews.
I'm drawn to products at the intersection of AI and user experience. When I'm not thinking about product strategy, you'll find me traveling, bouldering, or hunting for the perfect cup of coffee.
Currently exploring:
- - AI-powered productivity tools
- - Developer experience products
- - B2B SaaS platforms
From Code to Product
My journey from building features to building products — and why technical depth makes me a better PM
Building Features, Missing the Why
Started as a software engineer at Wonsulting, building GPT-powered resume tools. Focused on implementation details — APIs, prompt engineering, Python scripts. But kept wondering: why are we building this feature and not that one?
key learning:
“Writing code is easy. Knowing what code to write is the hard part.”
Asking Questions Engineers Don't
At FOLN and Neoboard, started pushing beyond tickets. Interviewed 10+ professors for Neoboard's Canvas integration. Built referral systems at FOLN and asked: 'How do we measure if users actually want this?' Engineering background let me prototype fast, but I cared more about impact than implementation.
key learning:
“User feedback beats technical perfection. Ship, learn, iterate.”
Leading Product, Not Just Code
Led Unibites through a 10-week incubator with Product Association. Assumed the role as Product Manager for a 6 student team. Used Jira for prioritization, Lovable for MVP development, and Slack for communication. Still coded minimally, but spent more time being a ideator and strategist than a engineer.
key learning:
“The best product decisions come from talking to users, not assumptions.”
From Tickets to Strategy
PM intern at Capital One. Designed Dynamic Decisioning system from user research (200+ call transcripts) through architecture design. Conducted build vs. buy analysis. Created PRDs and roadmaps. My engineering background made me a better PM — I could talk to engineers as peers, scope realistically, and understand technical trade-offs.
key learning:
“Technical depth + user empathy = better product decisions. I don't just spec features, I understand how they're built and why they matter.”
Today: Technical PM Who Ships
I don't just write PRDs — I understand the system architecture behind them. I don't just gather requirements — I can prototype them. My engineering roots make me a partner to developers, not a blocker.
Experience
workFrom engineering to product — building things that matter.
Capital One
Product Management Intern
- -Spearheaded the Dynamic Decisioning MVP to revolutionize proactive interactive voice response experiences, projected to save customers 55,000 hours monthly and reduce TCT by 8.4% through personalized user flows
- -Conducted trade-off analysis for the “buy” decision of RulesLab as an enterprise decisioning platform over a “build” of an in-house build, enabling agile rule management and empowering business users by reducing development overhead
- -Collaborated with engineers to design a scalable, microservice architecture between 3 orchestration layers
- -Outlined a phased product roadmap, with an initial build design focused on scalable data ingestion and setting the technical foundation for integrating AI predictive capabilities with a classification model based on customer data
Neoboard
Software Engineer Intern
- -Engineered a 3-service Dockerized distributed system, integrating it with Canvas LMS via LTI 1.3 standards
- -Implemented core asynchronous processing for AI text detection by integrating three third-party APIs with features including intelligent scheduling and an automatic retry mechanism for submission processing
- -Conducted requirements engineering and user validation testing through interviews and surveys with 10+ professors
Headstarter AI
Software Engineering Fellow
- -Led a team of developers in ideating and implementing four AI-driven applications, including a SAAS Flashcard WebApp and RAG Chatbot
ForOurLastNames
Full-Stack Engineering Intern
- -Constructed user growth platform features, utilizing tools such as Stripe for cross-user referral incentivization, social media APIs for multimedia sharing, and Google Chart API to visualize program success metrics
- -Designed and engineered a scalable PostgreSQL user schema, enabling the creation of a dynamic friends list feature in a 100+ user base, enhancing user interaction and engagement by 25% across core features through content sharing
- -Aligned production website’s UI/UX to meet design specifications and wireframes, enhancing visual consistency
- -Organized and led meetings with cross-functional teams, facilitating standups and storyboard progress checks
Wonsulting
Software Development Intern
- -Identified key areas in which the main Wonsulting product offering was lacking through user feedback analysis
- -Conducted prompt engineering to refine model output, evaluating generations against a defined quality rubric
- -Led a iterative design approach utilizing Google Colab, working with the design team to guide feature creation
- -Developed Python scripts and API infrastructure to integrate GPT 3.0 for automated resume bullet point generation
Leadership & Involvement
Product Association
Product Management Fellow
- -Utilized Jira to navigate evolving feature prioritization and lead a team of 6 students in a 10-week incubator
- -Drove Unibites from idea to MVP launch by developing product roadmap, aligning stakeholders around core user pain points, and executing an agile development process that generated 100+ user reviews
Delta Sigma Pi
Director of Technology and Vice President of Alumni Relations
- -Developed the chapter's first interactive alumni analytics dashboard using Next.js, Tailwind CSS, and Framer Motion for 400+ alumni profiles
- -Modernized the chapter website with React componentization, shifting the static site into a dynamic, scalable platform
Undergraduate Business Association
Mentor
- -Fostered one-on-one mentorship to lower classmen, guiding development in professionalism through proactive resume and cover letter reviews, networking workshops, and interview preparation
Product Philosophy
The principles that guide how I build, ship, and iterate on products
Ship Fast, Iterate Faster
Perfect is the enemy of shipped. I believe in launching 80% solutions quickly, gathering real user feedback, and iterating based on data rather than assumptions.
real example:
“At Unibites, we launched the MVP in 6 weeks instead of building all planned features. User feedback revealed they wanted delivery tracking more than menu customization—we pivoted and added what mattered.”
Start with Why
Every feature should solve a real problem. I lead with user research and pain points before thinking about solutions, ensuring we're building the right thing, not just building things right.
real example:
“Before designing Capital One's Dynamic Decisioning system, I analyzed 200+ customer call transcripts to understand friction points. This shaped our 55K hour savings projection.”
Talk to Users, Not Assumptions
Data tells you what happened, but users tell you why. I combine quantitative metrics with qualitative insights to make informed decisions that balance user needs and business goals.
real example:
“Building Unibites, we didn’t guess what students wanted—we validated it. We used early usage signals plus direct feedback, iterated quickly through a 10‑week incubator, and launched an MVP that generated 100+ user reviews.”
Build with Engineers, Not For Them
My engineering background lets me collaborate as a partner, not a ticket writer. I understand technical constraints and trade-offs, making me more effective at scoping and prioritization.
real example:
“At Neoboard, knowing the Canvas LTI architecture let me scope the MVP realistically—we prioritized async processing over real-time, shipping 3 months earlier without compromising quality.”
Projects
buildsCase studies from things I've built — hover for metrics, click to dig into the product thinking.
Scoutify
PresentA lead intelligence platform that identifies high-opportunity local businesses by analyzing online presence gaps (e.g., missing websites, weak SEO, low digital engagement)
Dissect AI
August 2024AI-powered audio and data analysis platform enabling precise transcription, semantic insights, and real-time feedback through advanced ML models and cloud-based processing pipelines
Art Farm Labs
June 2024E-commerce platform tailored to parent-child user hierarchy, utilizing Shopify API and Next.js for real-time GraphQL calls with integrated Sanity CMS
Rate My Professor Chatbot
June 2024A RAG Chatbot that utilizes a knowledge base of Rate My Professor data to augment its response generation
AI Flashcard SAAS
August 2024A SAAS which automates the process of creating flashcards by utilizing AI for question and answer generation.
Fluent.ly
February 2023Using AI to analyze pronunciation, Fluently provides language learning feedback that is both personalized and objective.
Intinero
January 2024A comprehensive travel app that helps users plan journeys and understands preferences through advanced language AI.
Beyond the Resume
the human sideThe things that shape how I think, build, and show up.
Esports
Competitive gaming taught me how to think fast, adapt to meta shifts, and work as a team under pressure.
Bouldering
Every route is a problem to solve. I approach products the same way — break it down, try different angles, send it.
Coffee
Pour-overs, espresso, V60s — the craft of coffee is about precision, patience, and always iterating on the process.
National Parks
Nothing clears the mind like being surrounded by nature. Exploring parks keeps me grounded and curious.
Gen AI
Building at the frontier of AI. I'm obsessed with how generative models can reshape how we work and create.
Climbing Progress
Bouldering sends by grade
// Each grade represents the hardest problem sent that year
current vibe while building
Skills & Tools
// Technical Stack
Education
school
University of California, Irvine
B.S. Computer Science & B.S. Informatics
2022 – 2025
Garden Grove High School
Valedictorian — Top of 500+ students
2018 – 2022
Let's chat
I'm actively seeking Product Management opportunities in AI/ML products. Available for full-time roles starting January 2026.