How Product and Engineering Teams Can Work as One: Lessons from Uber's $1 Billion Payment Platform

Ebi Atawodi reveals how transparent business metrics, personal connections, and bootstrapped projects transformed a struggling team into Uber's most successful product-engineering partnership.

A rocky start between product and engineering at Uber evolved into a four-year partnership with zero attrition that built payment systems processing over $1 billion annually.

Key Takeaways

• Trust must be earned gradually before driving change—transparency about business reality, even when uncomfortable, builds credibility over time
• Business scorecards sharing key metrics create ownership and enable engineers to propose solutions rather than just execute feature requests
• State of the Union presentations help teams understand their impact, market context, and business priorities while celebrating wins
• Personal connections outside work hours aren't "cheating"—they're essential for effective collaboration and reduce friction in disagreements
• Bootstrapping projects by solving real problems first, then showing business value, proves more effective than requesting headcount upfront
• Standout engineers across all companies share three traits: continuous learning, willingness to get hands dirty with code, and strong convictions paired with openness to being wrong
• Product leadership requires understanding business impact, technical feasibility, and customer experience—making everyone on the team a product leader
• Career advancement comes through sponsorship (advocates when you're not in the room) rather than traditional mentorship relationships

Timeline Overview

• 00:00–02:19 — Intro: Introduction to Ebi Atawodi and the context of their successful product-engineering partnership at Uber
• 02:19–12:35 — Engineering and Product working together: a rocky start: Initial conflicts over transparency about product reviews and business reality
• 12:35–30:24 — Working as a startup inside a large company: Creating business scorecards, regular one-on-ones, and involving engineers in product decisions
• 30:24–36:00 — Product-minded engineers: How transparency about business metrics led to engineers proposing innovative solutions
• 36:00–43:58 — Getting headcount for Engineering: The challenge of securing resources and the $1 billion cash payment team example
• 43:58–50:44 — The importance of "vision" and meeting people: Building relationships, roadshow tactics, and the value of human connections
• 50:44–1:06:54 — Traits of standout software engineers: Patterns of excellence across Uber, Netflix, and Google including learning, hands-on work, and conviction
• 1:06:54–1:11:50 — The value of a great PM: Product leadership definition and career advice for treating professional growth like a project
• 1:11:50–END — Play the long game: Sponsorship over mentorship and focusing on good work rather than resume building

From Rocky Start to Partnership Excellence

The initial conflict between Ebi and the engineering team illustrates how transparency, even when uncomfortable, can build the foundation for exceptional collaboration.

• Ebi's direct communication about poor product review results initially demoralized the engineering team, who worried about job security and team survival
• The engineering manager felt Ebi was undermining team morale by sharing business realities that previous product managers had hidden from the technical team
• This transparency revealed that engineers had been completely unaware of monthly product reviews where their team's fate was being decided
• The conflict forced both sides to recognize they were "on the same team" rather than adversarial functions with competing priorities
• Ebi's Nigerian directness, described as more intense than Dutch directness, required calibration for team onboarding and trust building
• The breakthrough came when both leaders realized they "want the same thing" and began focusing on shared outcomes rather than role boundaries

This foundation of honest communication, despite initial discomfort, created the trust necessary for the partnership that followed.

Creating Startup Culture Inside Big Tech

The transformation involved implementing practices that made a large corporate team feel like an agile startup with shared ownership and clear business focus.

• Business scorecards became central to team meetings, displaying key metrics like gross bookings, conversion rates, failed payments, and cancellations
• Regular one-on-ones between product and engineering leadership created alignment and shared context about team dynamics and business challenges
• Team meetings evolved from primarily technical discussions to product-first conversations where engineers actively participated in business decisions
• Engineers began proposing initiatives like web payment platforms based on understanding business metrics and competitive positioning
• The team operated with "skin in the game" mentality where everyone felt ownership of business outcomes rather than just feature delivery
• Regular State of the Union presentations helped the team understand their massive impact—payments equivalent to entire countries' economies

This approach eliminated the artificial boundary between "product" and "engineering" in favor of collective product leadership.

The State of the Union Strategy

State of the Union presentations became a powerful tool for building team pride, providing business context, and addressing systemic issues.

• The first presentation highlighted the team's massive business impact—payments equivalent to an entire Polynesian island nation's economy
• Market trend analysis showed engineers why global markets like Brazil and India were prioritizing payment method requests over US/UK markets
• The presentation addressed engineer concerns about on-call burden by explaining the business context and technical debt sources
• Cash payment analysis revealed that many "cash problems" were actually underlying latency issues with marketplace systems affecting all payment methods
• These presentations helped engineers understand why seemingly unreasonable requests from general managers made business sense in context
• Regular updates created rhythm and predictability that helped the team stay aligned on priorities and celebrate progress

The format provided business education that enabled engineers to think strategically rather than just execute tactical work.

Personal Connections Drive Professional Excellence

The relationship between personal connections and professional effectiveness challenges traditional boundaries between work and personal interactions.

• Regular dinners and social interactions outside work hours created deeper understanding between product and engineering leaders
• Sharing personal details like birthdays, relationship status, and life changes enabled more effective collaboration during stressful periods
• Personal knowledge helped leaders support team members going through major life transitions like marriages, relocations, and career changes
• The approach reduced ego conflicts and misunderstandings by humanizing disagreements as professional rather than personal attacks
• Consistent rhythms of one-on-ones, team meetings, and planning sessions created predictable structure that enabled deeper relationships
• Personal connections made difficult conversations about performance, career changes, and team dynamics more effective and compassionate

This investment in human relationships paid dividends in team effectiveness and reduced the friction typically associated with cross-functional collaboration.

Bootstrapping Innovation Through Real Problems

The most successful projects emerged from solving immediate business problems rather than requesting resources for speculative initiatives.

• Uber Pay API developed by using a Latin American payment integration requirement to bootstrap a broader platform vision
• Web payment platform emerged from engineers recognizing business opportunities while solving a specific European regulatory requirement
• The team consistently used real customer problems as vehicles for building larger platform capabilities they wanted to create
• Bootstrap approach proved business value before requesting additional headcount, making resource requests easier to approve
• Failed attempts to get headcount through traditional planning processes taught the value of showing rather than pitching concepts
• The strategy reduced risk for leadership while giving teams freedom to experiment with platform approaches to point solutions

This approach balanced innovation with pragmatic business needs, making visionary projects more likely to receive support.

Patterns of Engineering Excellence

Standout engineers across major tech companies demonstrate consistent behavioral patterns that transcend specific technical skills or company cultures.

• Continuous learning manifests as curiosity about new technologies, willingness to experiment with tools, and staying current with industry developments
• Hands-on approach means willingness to write code, test systems, and dig into technical details rather than just discussing high-level concepts
• Strong convictions combined with intellectual humility—they have clear opinions but remain open to being wrong when presented with evidence
• Effective communication skills enable them to explain complex concepts in simple terms without using jargon to intimidate others
• Product awareness includes understanding business metrics, user experience, and competitive landscape rather than focusing solely on technical implementation
• Collaborative nature means they elevate others rather than demonstrating superiority, making non-technical team members feel valued rather than inadequate

These patterns remain consistent across different company cultures, suggesting fundamental traits rather than environment-specific behaviors.

The Three-Pillar Product Definition

Understanding product as the intersection of business viability, technical feasibility, and customer experience makes everyone a product leader regardless of their functional role.

• Business viability requires understanding revenue impact, cost implications, and strategic alignment with company objectives
• Technical feasibility involves realistic assessment of implementation complexity, timeline requirements, and system integration challenges
• Customer experience encompasses usability, value delivery, and satisfaction with the solution being built
• No single function owns all three pillars—successful products require collaboration across business, technical, and design perspectives
• Engineers who understand business context can propose solutions that balance technical elegance with business pragmatism
• Product managers who understand technical constraints can set realistic expectations and prioritize features effectively

This framework helps team members understand their collective responsibility for product success rather than viewing their role in isolation.

Career Development as Project Management

Treating career advancement like a project requires regular check-ins, clear objectives, and proactive problem-solving rather than reactive performance discussions.

• Periodic conversations with managers about progress, challenges, and skill development prevent surprises during formal review cycles
• Sponsorship provides advocacy when you're not in the room, while mentorship focuses on skill development and guidance
• Career sponsors should be people familiar with your work quality rather than random networking connections or online mentorship requests
• Regular recruiter conversations every six months help junior employees understand market conditions and career options
• Playing the long game means focusing on excellent work and genuine relationships rather than transactional networking or resume building
• Career advancement often comes through internal recommendations rather than external applications, making reputation and relationships crucial

This approach creates more control over career trajectory while building the relationships necessary for long-term success.

Common Questions

Q: How do you build trust between product and engineering teams?
A: Start with transparency about business realities, even when uncomfortable, and invest time in personal relationships outside formal work interactions.

Q: What makes an engineer stand out across different companies?
A: Continuous learning, willingness to get hands dirty with code, strong convictions paired with openness to being wrong, and effective communication skills.

Q: How do you get headcount for engineering projects?
A: Bootstrap solutions by solving real business problems first, then demonstrate value before requesting additional resources for expansion.

Q: What's the difference between mentorship and sponsorship?
A: Mentorship provides guidance and skill development, while sponsorship means someone advocates for you when you're not in the room—sponsorship is often more valuable for career advancement.

Q: How should engineers think about product management?
A: Everyone is a product leader responsible for business viability, technical feasibility, and customer experience—not just the person with "PM" in their title.

Conclusion

The transformation from a struggling cross-functional relationship to a highly effective partnership demonstrates that successful product-engineering collaboration requires intentional investment in transparency, personal relationships, and shared ownership of business outcomes. The key insight is that role boundaries often create artificial constraints—the most effective teams operate as unified product organizations rather than separate functions.

Ebi's experience across Uber, Netflix, and Google reveals that the fundamentals of effective collaboration remain consistent across different company cultures and scales. The investment in human relationships, business transparency, and shared accountability creates compound returns that benefit both individual career growth and team effectiveness.

Most importantly, the approach challenges the traditional efficiency-focused mindset that views personal connections as inefficient. Instead, it demonstrates that investing time in understanding people as humans rather than just role-holders creates the foundation for breakthrough collaboration and innovation.

Practical Implications

• Implement business scorecards that make key metrics visible to all team members, not just product managers
• Schedule regular one-on-ones between product and engineering leadership to build alignment and share context
• Create State of the Union presentations that explain business context, celebrate wins, and address systemic challenges
• Invest time in personal relationships with cross-functional partners through informal dinners and social interactions
• Bootstrap innovative projects by solving real business problems rather than requesting speculative headcount
• Treat career development like project management with regular check-ins and proactive skill development conversations
• Focus on building sponsor relationships with people familiar with your work rather than seeking random mentorship connections
• Practice explaining technical concepts in simple terms that make non-technical team members feel included rather than intimidated
• Understand business metrics and customer experience alongside technical implementation details
• Maintain consistent meeting rhythms and communication cadences to build trust and predictability
• Encourage all team members to think like product leaders responsible for business outcomes, not just feature delivery
• Play the long game by focusing on excellent work and genuine relationships rather than transactional career advancement tactics