Get to Know Hector Angulo, VP of Product

Hi Hector! We’re excited to hear all about your career journey to becoming Hired’s VP of Product. We have readers in the Product space, who may aspire to a role like yours. Let’s get started! 

You recently celebrated your first anniversary as Hired’s VP of Product, in July. (Congrats!) Were you always interested in a Product role? Please tell us about your career path. 

I always had a passion for technology and knew I wanted to do something with computers. However, the Product Management role as we know it today didn’t really exist at scale when I was in college so I thought I was going into a Software Engineering career.

I was lucky to complete a Software Engineering internship for three summers at Cisco. That is when I realized while I had a passion for solving complex problems with technology and truly enjoyed programming, my passion was really in how technology itself is used to solve problems and align closely with the customer.

When I graduated, I didn’t even know Product Management existed as a career. I went into QA at a company making Voice Over IP (VOIP) hardware. I quickly moved into Professional Services, helping our biggest customers solve their problems hands-on and partnering with the Engineering team to iterate. 

I fell in love with connecting customers, the business, and tech teams. I realized it was what I wanted to do full-time. It’s incredibly rewarding to work with people across the company to solve the major problems for both users and companies.

The first part of my career centered around learning how to build great, impactful features and products. Now, it’s about how to build great, impactful product and design teams. Whenever I have free time I can’t resist the urge to dive into the product data to analyze and problem solve. It’s simply in my blood as an Engineer and a problem solver by nature! 

Will you share more about a past role not directly related to “product” that taught you something you applied to your career later? 

The Software Engineering internship at Cisco is the role that comes to mind. I loved the challenge coding presented. Although I was not going to be a top 10% coder, I was great at asking the right questions. It wasn’t fun as a developer getting a task to code without the context of why it mattered or what it was going to be used for. My interest in this helped me realize where my true interest lies.

Your BS from UC Berkeley is in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. How do you feel your education applies in your current role as VP Product? 

My education has been incredibly helpful in establishing the foundation of all things tech learning from hardware to software and networking. A primary aspect of solving problems is having a peek into what may be possible with technology that wasn’t before. It also helps create a strong rapport with the Engineering team and achieve quick wins in a new role. It’s always helpful to add value as fast as you can. 

What motivates you to get up and work every morning?

The long-lived rituals and expectations around how jobseekers make their next career move are changing dramatically — and I love being at the forefront of that transformation.

When it comes to working at Hired, what’s your favorite thing?

Our incredible product and design team, no doubt. I’m sure everybody says “the people” but if you think about it: if you don’t enjoy working with the people on your team day in and day out you probably won’t want to stick around. I enjoy connecting with my team, problem-solving with them, and helping them grow in their careers.  

What is your favorite project or a memorable moment you’ve had while working at Hired? 

OTOD was a great opportunity to see people in person. I’ve mostly worked remotely since 2015 at multiple distributed companies but the relationships you expand on through in-person interactions are invaluable. 

Related: One Team One Dream Corporate Offsite in Las Vegas Wins Big 

Thank you Hector!

Interested in joining the Hired team? Check out our open roles!

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