Justin Kitagawa, Twilio's VP of Engineering, Product Platform, has had a diverse 20-plus year career in software, having served as principal of his own consultancy and directing an IaaS company's engineering practice. He joined Twilio six years ago after being drawn to the company's platform services model, which he saw as revolutionary technology. Initially starting at the engineering manager level despite not having director-level experience, Justin took a bet on the company and quickly learned new skills, becoming a vital strategic support for his team and eventually earning promotions through his hard work and strategic approach to his career. He believes in being open to detours and focuses on creating impact and legacy rather than just focusing on how he got there. Justin has now taken on another senior director role, leading the Product Platform organization to stabilize foundational services used throughout Twilio while countering the tragedy of the commons, a problem where individual product teams divert funding from core building blocks. Through his leadership, Justin aims to inspire ambition in the next generation of leaders at Twilio.