cover_letter / art_s3k4aazrmyA

Dear Zip Hiring Team, Zip is redefining how enterprises control and accelerate their spending — and the infrastructure that makes that possible, the identity layer, permissions model, governance controls, and shared UI foundation, is exactly the kind of platform work I have spent the better part of a decade building. After scaling Intuit's developer platform to 675M+ engagements across QuickBooks, TurboTax, Mailchimp, and Credit Karma, I understand what it takes to build foundational capabilities that hundreds of engineering teams and millions of end users depend on every day. ## Technical and Platform Foundation At Intuit, I owned the ICE (Intuit Commerce Engine) platform as a Staff PM, where I was responsible for the developer-facing infrastructure that underpinned nearly every Intuit product. That work was deeply technical: I drove a rSocket migration that scaled throughput from 6K to 50K TPS while supporting approximately 1.5M concurrent connections at sub-25ms TP99 latency. I extended Java and Python SDK Starter Kits with scaffolding templates, Gradle/Maven build configurations, and CI/CD integration so developers could go from zero to a production-ready microservice in minutes. I delivered the ICE Self-Service platform — DevPortal, GitOps configuration, and ICE Playground — reducing developer onboarding from two to three weeks down to minutes in pre-production and under 24 hours for production, while mitigating over $1M in projected opex growth. I also led an enterprise-wide Service Language Assessment across nine languages, analyzed usage data and developer feedback via SQL and BigQuery, and presented strategic investment recommendations directly to Intuit's CTO. I built Asterias, a declarative asset lifecycle management platform with a GraphQL API, and initiated a Drift Detection and Resolution program — writing a Java JAR library to scan Git repositories for configuration drift and building a remediation roadmap using OpenRewrite. These are not adjacent experiences to the Enterprise Foundations role at Zip; they are the same class of problems. On the security and authentication side, I implemented OAuth 2.0 authentication flows across multiple products — including Kinde OAuth 2.0 in StreamIO with Electron SafeStorage for secure credential management — and deployed Background-to-Foreground Messaging on iOS and Android with sub-100ms latency. At Kaiser Permanente, I led enterprise rollout of Splunk Logging-as-a-Service handling 1.7 TB of daily log volume across 200+ internal customers, and built caching infrastructure using Redis and XC10 to address scalability, fault tolerance, and data redundancy at enterprise scale. ## Why This Role, Why Now Zip is at the inflection point where platform integrity becomes a competitive moat. The enterprises on your customer list — T-Mobile, OpenAI, AMD — have procurement workflows that touch sensitive vendor relationships, financial commitments, and compliance obligations. The authentication roadmap, RBAC model, data residency architecture, and governance controls you build now will either unlock or block those relationships. That is the kind of foundational, high-leverage product work I find most compelling, and it is where my background maps most directly. ## Role-Specific Connection The combination of responsibilities in this role — owning authentication and MFA/SSO strategy, defining data governance and reporting capabilities, partnering with GTM to unblock high-ARR deals on FedRAMP-adjacent and multi-cell requirements, and leading the design system roadmap — reflects exactly the cross-functional, technically deep platform PM work I have done across Intuit and my own ventures. I am particularly drawn to the opportunity to partner with infrastructure engineering on multi-cell and regional hosting architectures, having navigated a similar set of tradeoffs during the Mailchimp GCP-to-AWS migration I led at Intuit. The design system component of the role also resonates: I built a 100+ component React/TypeScript/Redux Toolkit application at StreamIO and understand the developer velocity gains that come from a well-governed shared component library. ## Selected Relevant Experience - **ICE Platform Scale:** Achieved 275% YoY growth in ICE engagements, scaling to 675M+ in FY23; drove rSocket migration scaling throughput from 6K to 50K TPS with ~1.5M concurrent connections at sub-25ms TP99. - **Developer Onboarding Infrastructure:** Delivered ICE Self-Service platform (DevPortal, GitOps config, ICE Playground), reducing onboarding from 2–3 weeks to minutes in pre-prod and <24 hours for production, mitigating $1M+ in projected opex growth. - **SDK and Platform Tooling:** Extended Java and Python SDK Starter Kits with scaffolding templates, Gradle/Maven build configurations, testing frameworks, and CI/CD integration; built Asterias declarative asset lifecycle platform with GraphQL API. - **Configuration Governance:** Initiated MSaaS Drift Detection and Resolution program — wrote Java JAR library to scan Git repos for configuration drift, partnered with Design on DevPortal UI, and built remediation roadmap using OpenRewrite. - **Cloud Migration and Infrastructure:** Led Mailchimp GCP-to-AWS migration for MSaaS, delivering Golang template, MySQL persistence integration, and updated DevPortal documentation to meet production deadline. - **Data and Telemetry-Driven Prioritization:** Used SQL and BigQuery to analyze usage data across ~20 mobile apps and 30+ product SKUs; conducted enterprise-wide Service Language Assessment across 9 languages presented to CTO. - **Authentication and Security Implementation:** Implemented Kinde OAuth 2.0 with Electron SafeStorage for secure credential management; deployed iOS/Android Background-to-Foreground Messaging at sub-100ms latency; built end-to-end Stripe subscription pipeline with tiered access controls. - **Enterprise Platform Operations:** Led Splunk Logging-as-a-Service rollout at Kaiser Permanente (1.7 TB daily, 200+ enterprise customers); built Redis/XC10 caching layer for scalability, fault tolerance, and data redundancy. ## Closing Zip's mission — enabling enterprises to secure the resources they need to innovate faster — depends on a platform layer that is trustworthy, auditable, and invisible when it is working correctly. That is the standard I held myself to at Intuit, and it is the standard I would bring to this role. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss how my background maps to the specific challenges on your roadmap. Thank you for your consideration. O. Felix Amoruwa famoruwa@berkeley.edu | 909-731-9011 | felixamoruwa.info