Justin Thames - Product Manager

About Me

Product manager with 14+ years of experience and a bias for shipping. I started my career as a machinist — programming production runs, watching raw material become a finished part. That instinct never left: take a problem, prototype it, build something real, ship it.

Today I define what AI-native product development looks like in practice. I prototype with AI tooling to validate ideas before engineering starts, partner directly with engineers through shared AI workflows, and build production agent architectures that automate operational PM work. Currently leading one of the first fully AI-native product builds — defining how design, product, and engineering AI workflows integrate into a single development motion.

I'm strongest at the intersection of people and product — executive relationships from C-suite to operators, enough technical depth to build alongside engineers, and a track record across three industries proving that PMs who prototype and ship move faster than PMs who just write tickets.

AI Toolkit

Claude Code Development & Prototyping

Claude Design Design Exploration

Cursor AI-Native IDE

GitHub Copilot Code Assistance

Impact

$5B Annual transaction volume managed

$1.2B GMV sourced

14M+ B2B transactions

648K B2C transactions

20% B2C transaction growth in 6 months

45% Revenue increase via API launch

Skills & Expertise

AI-Native Product Development

Prototyping with AI tooling to validate ideas before engineering starts. Shipping products end-to-end with AI-native development — web apps, services, and more. Defining how design, PM, and engineering AI workflows integrate into a single development motion.

Agentic Workflow Design

Production agents running on weekly cadence — automating stakeholder updates, competitive monitoring, funnel analytics, and executive briefs across product operations.

Platform Strategy & Redesign

Led full platform redesigns driving meaningful increases in conversion, engagement, and revenue. Experience across global luxury marketplace, automotive SaaS, and government-integrated transaction platforms.

Stakeholder & Executive Management

Building trust across all levels — C-suite to operators. Skilled at navigating organizational politics, cross-regional alignment, and translating technical complexity into clear business decisions.

Data-Driven Decision-Making

Building automated analytics pipelines, funnel monitoring systems, and competitive intelligence programs. P&L management with high-margin platform products.

Cross-Industry Adaptability

Luxury auction, automotive technology, electronic vehicle registration — each time diving deep, learning fast, and delivering meaningful results within complex regulatory and operational environments.

Product & Strategy

Strategic Planning & Roadmapping P&L Management Stakeholder & Executive Management Funnel Optimization & Conversion Market & Competitive Research Jobs-to-be-Done / ODI Agile / Scrum (CSPO) Cross-Functional Leadership Change Management User Research

Technical & AI

AI/ML Product Strategy Agentic Workflow Design AI-Augmented Development (Claude Code) AI Governance & Policy API Product Development Platform Redesign & UX Data Analytics (Amplitude, Tableau, BigQuery, Snowflake) AWS Infrastructure Legacy System Modernization End-to-End Product Development

Industry Knowledge

Luxury Goods / Auction Automotive Technology Electronic Vehicle Registration (EVR) E-commerce / Marketplace Platforms SaaS / Platform Products

CSPO (Certified Scrum Product Owner) Pragmatic Marketing Certified Strategyn: Outcome Driven Innovation (Jobs-to-be-Done)

Experience

Work History

Oct 2022 - Present

Senior Product Manager

Sotheby's

Own global consignment platform serving sellers across 20+ collecting categories, generating hundreds of millions in estimated GMV annually.
Leading first fully AI-native product build — partnering with engineers through Claude Code to prototype, validate, and ship faster than traditional development cycles.
Partnering with engineering and design to define integrated AI workflows — establishing how each discipline leverages AI tooling within a unified development motion.
Building PM prototypes with AI tooling to test theories and inform roadmaps before engineering begins — compressing the concept-to-build cycle.
Built production agent architecture automating stakeholder updates, competitive monitoring, funnel analytics, and executive briefs on weekly cadence.
Led full platform redesign — 20% increase in submission volume, improved conversion, and new seller acquisition.
Managed P&L (~92% margins), built automated analytics pipelines, and led PM team across concurrent product areas.

Sept 2016 - Oct 2022

Lead Product Manager

Dealertrack @ Cox Automotive

Managed automotive title and lien platform facilitating billions of dollars in transactions annually for major lienholders.
Launched API product layer enabling partner integration — increased revenue opportunity by 45%+.
Expanded into insurance and salvage verticals — increased revenue by 40%.
Led AWS infrastructure migration — improved margins by 35%+.

Oct 2011 - Sept 2016

Product Manager

AVRS (Acquired by CVR — CDK Global)

Joined near inception; helped grow EVR platform from MVP to 14 million transactions.
Targeted underserved small business market, then expanded into dealer vertical — platform traction drove acquisition by CDK Global.
Managed full product lifecycle through startup growth, competitive expansion, and acquisition integration.

Projects

2025 - Present

Simple Pitch Counter

iOS App — Solo Developer

Portfolio piece demonstrating that a product manager can define, design, develop, and ship a product end-to-end using AI-native development.
Built and shipped from concept through App Store deployment using Claude Code — full product ownership across the entire lifecycle.
Companion site at simplepitchcounter.com.