Meet Emad Hasan, Principal PMT on the New Product Campaigns team
Meet Emad Hasan, a recently appointed Principal Technical Product Manager (PMT) at Amazon Ads. With a diverse background spanning aerospace engineering, data science, and entrepreneurship, Emad brings a unique perspective to the world of advertising technology.
In this interview, Emad shares his insights on the convergence of data science and advertising, the unique opportunities presented by Amazon, and his vision for the future of ad tech.
Your career began in aerospace. How did you make the leap to Amazon?
I’m an engineer by training and at heart. I started out working on flight control systems for helicopters and satellite guidance systems—very technical roles. But about a decade ago, I got excited about data science and made the transition to that world. I’ve worked at PayPal and Facebook and then cofounded a data science start-up. Moving to Amazon Ads felt very natural, given how AI is transforming ad tech. My journey might seem eclectic at first glance, but there's a common thread running through it all—the application of data and algorithms to solve complex problems.
How does your background in aerospace engineering translate into working in ad tech?
When I first started in aerospace, we were working with huge amounts of data from sensors—tracking things like airspeed and GPS position—to ensure that the aircraft or satellite moved in the right direction. Moving into data science, I found a lot of similarities. It’s about designing systems and algorithms that act on large amounts of data. In ad tech, this is taken to another level, especially at Amazon. You’re doing something similar, but in near real time, to deliver the most relevant ad to the right person.
Why did you choose Amazon Ads specifically?
What really excited me about Amazon Ads was the convergence of three critical factors: rich customer data, robust technical infrastructure, and the advent of large language models.
Amazon Ads is unique in the industry. We sell tangible products. We have the customer signals that are needed to build effective machine learning models, plus we have customers to distribute to. This allows us to improve ad relevance in an entirely new way. We’re not only delivering ads; we’re doing it with a level of personalization that’s genuinely valuable to both advertisers and end customers. Amazon has the infrastructure, leadership support, and specialized talent to really push innovation.
What makes Amazon’s workplace different?
We’re very customer-obsessed; it goes beyond what you see at other companies. That obsession drives everything from product decisions to day-to-day interactions. Also, Amazon’s culture is very builder-oriented, with a lot of autonomy and a bottom-up approach. This culture of experimentation and building really appealed to me, especially since I came from a start-up background.
Can you share any insights into Amazon's working style?
One aspect that really stands out is the focus on narrative documents over flashy PowerPoint presentations. As someone with an academic background, I find this approach refreshing and conducive to deeper, more thoughtful analysis. It encourages us to back up our ideas with data and thorough reasoning. Additionally, the emphasis on Amazon's Leadership Principles creates a common language and framework for decision-making that I find incredibly valuable. The principles that resonated with me were around delivering results and customer obsession.
Your path to Amazon Ads wasn’t linear. Any advice for someone interested in making a similar career move?
I’d say the top three things are to be opinionated, to communicate your ideas in a clear, written way, and to be open to feedback. Writing down ideas in narrative form is core to Amazon’s communication style; it’s rigorous but rewarding. If you enjoy problem-solving and aren’t afraid to share ideas, you’ll fit right in here.
The interview process at Amazon can be daunting. How did you find it?
Honestly, it felt natural to me. I just shared what I’d done in my previous roles, and they asked insightful questions. It wasn’t about tripping you up; the interviewers genuinely want to know how you think and approach challenges. Amazon focuses on aligning skills and working styles with roles to ensure that you’re a good fit.
So what excites you most about working at Amazon Ads?
We’re in a unique spot right now to build something amazing, to be relevant in the moment, and to show people ads in a way that is useful, educational, entertaining, and even delightful.
Finally, do you think ad tech can really re-imagine advertising?
If you look at the impact of large language models, the highest-impact area is advertising. Think about automating creative, optimizing who you're serving it to. For the first time, there’s a chance to improve relevance by orders of magnitude. There are times in an industry when it’s about making incremental changes, and right now is one of those times when we're going to see a significant step change. That’s what got me excited to join Amazon Ads.