A Day in the Life | Meet Karen

In our A Day in the Life series, we take the opportunity to recognize some of Jitjatjo’s remarkable Change Agents. In this segment, we meet Jitjatjo Product Lead, Karen. Karen gives us a peek behind the scenes of a typical day as Product Lead for Dash by Jitjatjo, what her role entails and what she loves about working at Jitjatjo. 

Name: Karen Lin

Title: Product Lead - Dash Squad

What I love most about working at Jitjatjo is building products that make a positive impact on individuals from all walks of life.

What do you do at Jitjatjo and how long have you been with the company?

I’m the Product Lead for Dash and have been with the company for 2 years. Dash is the administrative platform that keeps our Network ecosystem of services running at its best, no matter how market conditions change. This encompasses recruiting, job fulfillment, client management, compliance, business analytics, and more.

What is your typical day like?

Is there a typical day for a product manager? I guess it depends on which time zone I’m working from. When in NY, I wake up around 7 am and do a quick check on Slack for any emergencies. If none, I make breakfast. Then I settle in, respond to messages, or prep for meetings. I’ve been at places that were non-stop meetings for PMs, but we minimize them here, and I’m deciding which ones to have. Once I’ve unblocked my team for the day, I review my to-do list and add to it as necessary. Since most of the team members are in Europe/Asia, the afternoon is often for analytical work on my own, or user interviews.

How would you describe Jitjatjo in 3 words?

How about less than 3 words? People first.

Why did you choose Jitjatjo?

At a previous company, pushed by executives, I worked on product features to bolster questionable practices on how some of their workers were paid. At Jitjatjo, the executive team seemed to have a genuine desire to put people first, investing in the long-term outcomes of developing people, and empowering them with trust to work fully remotely.

What do you love most about working at Jitjatjo?

Lots of freedom to influence processes and outcomes, feeling heard by the executive team due to improvements in the company’s structure/system. Proactive team members that make working fully remote a dream. Building products that make a positive impact on individuals from all walks of life.

What do you think makes a great team?

Communication, proactiveness, trust, diverse backgrounds, yet shared goals. We make the international aspect of our team an asset.

What is your biggest achievement to date – personal or professional?

Creating a website of crowdsourced maps that, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, gave thousands of affected people the most up-to-date information on emergency supplies, that FEMA/White House and Google.org requested our data.

What is the best career lesson you’ve learned so far?

Choose your teammates wisely, and you’ll be rewarded with people to trust day in day out, even beyond their time at the company.

What has been your proudest moment at Jitjatjo?

After months of hard work, from almost every department in the company, we were able to switch to our new pricing architecture. Going into new markets, we’ve enjoyed seeing our design and implementation hold up to changing business needs.

What do you hope to achieve in the coming months, year(s)?

Short-term - Help increase the rate of vaccinations through staffing of vaccination centers and hospitals. Long-term - Grow the team and their skills to higher levels through international expansion.