cover_letter / art__j59Ex-Cifg

Dear Starlink Aviation Hiring Team, SpaceX exists to make humanity multiplanetary — and Starlink is the infrastructure layer that funds and enables that mission while simultaneously connecting the world's most underserved and mobile populations, including those at 40,000 feet. That intersection of frontier technology and real-world connectivity impact is what draws me to this role. I hold an FAA Private Pilot License and FAA Commercial Drone (sUAS Remote Pilot) certification, and I have spent 12+ years building and selling developer-facing platforms and enterprise infrastructure at scale — so when I read the Starlink Aviation Sr. Product Sales Manager description, I recognized a role that maps directly to the work I have done and the domain I operate in. **Technical and Platform Foundation** My technical credibility is grounded in enterprise infrastructure at scale. At Intuit, I owned the ICE (Intuit Commerce Engine) platform — a high-throughput service mesh supporting ~1.5M concurrent connections across QuickBooks, TurboTax, Mint, Mailchimp, and Credit Karma. I drove a rSocket migration that scaled throughput from 6,000 to 50,000 transactions per second while maintaining sub-25ms TP99 latency, and grew ICE engagements 275% year-over-year to 675M+ in FY23. That is the kind of enterprise network infrastructure work the JD calls for — not theoretical, but production-grade, at consumer and enterprise scale simultaneously. At Splunk, I owned the Search Service (Go microservices), Search Catalog (PostgreSQL), and Splunk Processing Language (SPL/SPL2) for Splunk Cloud Services. I delivered the Scheduler Service end-to-end in approximately four months and led a query performance optimization initiative that achieved up to 10x improvements for a Fortune 500 beta customer. I presented at Splunk .conf18 and .conf19 — experience that directly parallels the JD's requirement to represent Starlink at global conferences and events. Earlier in my career at Kaiser Permanente, I led the enterprise rollout of Splunk Logging-as-a-Service handling 1.7 TB of daily log volume across 200+ internal enterprise customers, and built caching infrastructure using Redis and XC10 to address scalability, fault tolerance, and data redundancy — foundational enterprise networking work that informs how I think about network infrastructure conversations with customers. **Why This Role, Why Now** I have spent the last several years building 0-to-1 products across complex technical domains — AI platforms, financial tools, real-time streaming infrastructure — and the through-line has always been translating technical capability into commercial value for customers who need guidance navigating ambiguity. The Starlink Aviation role asks for exactly that: someone who can sit across from an airline or corporate flight department, understand their connectivity requirements, explain network architecture in terms that matter to operators, and close deals that require both technical depth and commercial fluency. My PPL and sUAS certifications mean I am not learning the aviation domain from scratch — I understand airspace, operational constraints, and the decision-making context of aviation customers. **Role-Specific Connection** The JD specifically calls out pricing, product portfolio management, and go-to-market strategy for new hardware and service integrations — work I did directly at Intuit when I delivered the ICE Self-Service platform (DevPortal, GitOps config, ICE Playground), reducing developer onboarding from 2–3 weeks to under 24 hours for production while mitigating $1M+ in projected opex growth. I also conducted an enterprise-wide Service Language Assessment across 9 languages and presented strategic investment recommendations to the CTO — the kind of internally defensible, data-driven analysis the JD requires. Building and maintaining sales enablement collateral, consulting with Sales Operations on GTM processes, and partnering with Legal, Finance, and Engineering are all motions I have executed in cross-functional Staff PM roles. **Selected Relevant Experience** - **Intuit — 675M+ ICE engagements, 275% YoY growth:** Scaled enterprise platform infrastructure from 6K to 50K TPS via rSocket migration supporting ~1.5M concurrent connections with sub-25ms TP99 — directly applicable to understanding and communicating Starlink's network performance characteristics to aviation customers. - **Intuit — ICE Self-Service Platform (DevPortal, ICE Playground):** Reduced enterprise onboarding from 2–3 weeks to minutes in pre-prod and <24 hours for production; mitigated $1M+ in projected opex growth — demonstrating ability to design and execute GTM processes for complex technical products. - **Intuit — ICE Presence in async chat:** Implemented feature generating $480K/month in additional invoicing — direct revenue impact from a product decision I owned and defended internally. - **Splunk — Scheduler Service delivery (~4 months):** Owned end-to-end product delivery for a net-new microservice capability, demoed at Splunk .conf19 to an enterprise audience — conference representation experience the JD explicitly requires. - **Splunk — 10x query performance improvement:** Led benchmark testing initiative for a Fortune 500 beta customer, building mirrored Enterprise topology to validate improvements — the kind of technical sales support and customer engagement the JD describes. - **Kaiser Permanente — Logging-as-a-Service (1.7 TB/day, 200+ enterprise customers):** Led enterprise rollout of a production-grade infrastructure service at scale, including demand forecasting and capacity planning across multiple datacenters. - **Streamio AI — 0-to-1 product strategy and GTM execution:** Led customer discovery, iterative product refinement, and go-to-market execution for a technical product in a high-ambiguity environment — the operating mode the JD describes as a preferred characteristic. - **FAA Private Pilot License and FAA Commercial Drone (sUAS Remote Pilot) Certification:** Operational familiarity with aviation regulations, airspace structure, and the decision-making context of aviation operators — directly relevant to engaging general aviation, corporate aviation, and commercial airline customers. **Closing** Starlink Aviation is not just a connectivity product — it is infrastructure that changes what is operationally possible for airlines, charter operators, and the passengers and crews they serve. I want to be part of the team that accelerates that adoption globally, and I bring the enterprise infrastructure background, aviation domain familiarity, and 0-to-1 GTM execution experience to contribute from day one. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss how my background maps to what the Starlink Aviation team is building. Respectfully, **O. Felix Amoruwa** famoruwa@berkeley.edu | 909-731-9011 | felixamoruwa.info