Meet Luisa and Juarez.
Luisa: “I’m Luisa, and I’ve been working in digital products for more than eight years, primarily in financial services. I’ve worked across the full product lifecycle, from building zero-to-one products to driving growth, scaling products to millions of users, and supporting international expansion. I enjoy staying close to users and understanding their needs, and I’m motivated by building products that genuinely make a difference in people’s lives. I’m from Rio de Janeiro and love spending time in nature and enjoying Carnival, especially playing saxophone in street brass bands. More recently, I’ve developed a new passion: playing and watching tennis.”
Juarez: “I’m Juarez. I’m originally from Goiás, but I’ve spent most of my life in São Paulo and abroad. I’m passionate about sports and traveling the world. I also have two whippets, who are the most precious little creatures. Professionally, I have eight years of experience in product management. I’ve worked in gaming and financial services, primarily optimizing digital ecosystems and leading multidisciplinary teams to deliver consistent value in high-uncertainty environments. I’m passionate about agile methodologies and the ways technology can reduce friction in everyday life.”
Why did you choose to join the Product team at Uber? What surprised you most about Uber’s product culture after you joined?
Luisa: “I was excited by the opportunity to build products that impact millions of people while maintaining a very high bar for quality and prioritizing the user experience. What surprised me most was the global mindset. Even though I’m based in Brazil, I work on products that serve markets including Australia, the US, and the UK. It’s a unique opportunity to understand different user needs around the world and build products with truly global impact.”
Juarez: “I chose Uber because of its unique value proposition and logistical complexity. It’s a company that helped create an entirely new market and introduced a new way for people to move around the world. What surprised me most was the level of autonomy. I expected a more rigid structure given Uber’s scale, but I found squads that operate with the agility of a startup, with the freedom to test hypotheses quickly as long as they’re backed by solid data.”
In your view, what are the keys to being successful in the Jam Session?
Luisa: “Be clear and objective in your decision-making. Explain what you’re choosing and why. Before diving into the details, make sure you clearly articulate the problem and the key levers for solving it, almost like writing an executive summary for a presentation. This helps keep your thinking structured and prevents you from getting lost in the details. A strong presentation usually follows a clear line of thought: this is the problem, these are the key factors, and this is the approach I would take.”
Juarez: “Relentless prioritization. Don’t try to solve the whole world in 40 minutes. Identify the North Star metric for the case and discard the noise. It’s also important to show how you handle trade-offs. Every choice has a cost, and demonstrating that you understand what you’re choosing not to prioritize is what can set a senior PM apart.”
What are your tips for the 1:1 interviews, including Product Insights & Execution, Leadership & Scope, and Technical Depth?
Luisa: “Practice explaining your thinking out loud as if you were already in the interview. This is especially helpful if English is not your first language. Candidates can get nervous when interviewers ask rapid follow-up questions, so practicing can help you stay calm and structured. Uber also provides resources that explain each stage of the hiring process, which can help you prepare effectively.”
Juarez: “Focus on structured communication, using a framework like STAR when it makes sense. For the Technical Depth portion, you don’t need to know how to code, but you should understand technical feasibility and how systems communicate, including concepts like APIs, latency, and scalability. If the interviewer interrupts you, see it as a signal about the areas they want to explore rather than as a critique.”
What is the most critical element of the interview process that candidates consistently overlook or undervalue during preparation?
Luisa: “Behavioral questions. This is where you can really showcase your experience and how you work. It’s important to come prepared with impactful examples from your career, including products you shipped, projects you led, challenges you faced, and how you handled them.”
Juarez: “For the Jam Session, I think the element candidates miss most often is truly understanding the prompt. Without a deep understanding of the central challenge, the rest of your solution will struggle. You should continually ask yourself: What is the fundamental issue I’m tackling, and why? Clearly define your target user, but also identify who falls outside that scope and which aspects of the problem you are intentionally choosing not to address.”
If someone has only 48 hours to prepare, what are the three things they should focus on?
Luisa: “First, practice explaining your thinking out loud as if you were speaking to an interviewer. Second, prepare examples of your most impactful projects and challenging situations. Third, enjoy the process and treat it as a learning opportunity, regardless of the outcome.”
Juarez: “First, product sense: analyze the Uber app as a critic. What would you change today? Second, metrics: have a clear idea of how you would measure the success of a feature. Third, storytelling: select three projects where you failed or faced conflict, and be ready to explain what you learned from those experiences.”
What would you say to a Product Manager considering Uber as the next step in their career?
Luisa: “The impact of your work can be massive, and you’ll learn a lot along the way. It’s a unique environment to grow as a product leader and build products used by millions of people around the world.”
Juarez: “If you enjoy problems that don’t have answers on the internet, this is the place for you. Uber will challenge you to think on a global scale in a way few companies can. It’s an ideal place for people who want to turn raw data into everyday convenience and see the results of their work out in the world.”
