After a decade in software engineering, Margaret Zhang realized that she wanted to explore new ways to apply and deepen her technical knowledge. So she dove headfirst into an MBA program at the New York University Stern School of Business.
“Software engineering is about building the best product, while product management is about deciding what products to build to maximize user and business value,” said Zhang. “It requires having knowledge in business and empathy for users — that’s why I went back to school.”
After completing her first year at NYU Stern, she joined NVIDIA as an intern through the NVIDIA MBA program, which prepares the next generation of leaders to manage large teams while driving innovation and business strategy. The program also offers the opportunity for professionals like Zhang to pivot industries and pursue new career paths.
As a product management intern with NVIDIA’s enterprise platforms team, Zhang works with data scientists and machine learning engineers to explore how NVIDIA RTX-powered AI workstations and NVIDIA NIM microservices can assist in their work and development processes.
For her summer research project, she gathered information from data scientists on their AI development journey with an end goal of integrating into their workflows AI workstations — powerful computers consisting of NVIDIA professional GPUs and enterprise-grade software.
“We’re seeing the integration of hardware and software solutions as a valuable addition to data scientists,” said Zhang. “Every part of their work can start with an AI workstation.”
She recently presented her research at the MBA Intern Project Showcase, an internal event that highlights the work interns have accomplished.
“This internship actually validated that I love being a product manager, and I want to continue doing that,” said Zhang, emphasizing how much she enjoys the process of talking to end users, understanding their challenges and bringing solutions to enable their life’s work.
For anyone considering a career in product management, Zhang recommends developing business acumen, technical skills and user empathy. She also encourages professionals in any industry to be open to learning and exploring new things, whether technologies or industries.
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