Platform engineering needs a product manager, not “product thinking”

As platform engineering matures, many organizations struggle to find TPM talent. The common fallback is assigning “product thinking” to an engineer. But product thinking is not a role, and it is not a substitute for experienced product management. This talk argues that platform teams require seasoned technical product managers who can translate deep engineering work into business language, align initiatives to OKRs, create measurable roadmaps, and turn anecdotes into data. It explores the technical depth actually required, how to collaborate credibly without coding, and how to adapt traditional product processes to platform-as-a-product methodology. The message is clear: if platform engineering is strategic, product leadership should be treated as strategic too.