Cometh the Product Builder

The "Product Builder" seems like it's about to become the next hot role in tech.

Although the exact definition of a Product Builder is still in flux, I think of the role as basically:

2 parts product manager
2 parts software engineer
1 part product designer

The idea of a Product Builder has been floating around since no-code platforms started bubbling up, but it wasn’t until the emergence of genAI and vibe coding that the role became viable . . . and valuable.

Traditionally, most Product Managers haven’t been able to code. They wrote PRDs, put together wireframes, and hoped the devs would faithfully translate and create their vision.

Now? With copilots and tools like Lovable, Windsurf, and Cursor, PMs can leapfrog PRDs, mocks, and prototypes and just ship minimum viable features, functionalities, or products themselves.

That’s huge. Because in today’s age of “lean hiring,” a PM who can code is gold. (That almost rhymes!)

buuutttt . . . it’s not just PMs leveling up

With the idea of Product Builders starting to take hold, developers are coming at it from the other direction by learning product thinking, customer discovery, and business case building.

Thus, the rise of the Product Builder.

Right now, this hybrid role is emerging mid-career.

But give it 12-24 months, and I think it’s going to move upstream.

New grads won’t start their careers as Software Developers or Product Managers.

they’ll start as product builders—straddling dev, product, and design

They’ll talk to customers, identify needs, build business cases, AND design and ship the features, functionalities, or products themselves (still as part of a team, of course). Then, after 3-5 years, they’ll pick a path and become a senior-level dev or PM.

Will this replace early-career PMs and devs entirely? Nope.

There’s too much diversity in company size, industry, org structures, and tech stacks, and thus, too many disparate needs. So, specialists will always have a place.

But the generalist Product Builder is standing at the edge of the pool, and it seems that the market is telling them that the water is warm and to jump in.