Jono Ritchie, SeniorProduct Manager at Plexure

From aspiring to be a brain surgeon to helping keep the digital kingdom running smoothly, Jono Ritchie, Senior Product Manager at Plexure, has built a career focused on solving the unseen challenges that keep complex systems working seamlessly.

With a background spanning healthcare, medical devices, and consumer software, he found his sweet spot in the often underrated world of platform product management — where improving the systems behind the scenes can unlock growth for the entire business.

We caught up with Jono to learn more about what his day-to-day looks like, why investing in the internal environment is one of the biggest levers for success, and the underrated power of strong communication in shaping a career. Thanks for sharing your story, Jono.

Firstly, how would you explain to a five year old what it is you do?

I just so happen to have a 5-year-old who is obsessed with Frozen…so I’d probably start there!

Imagine the kingdom of Arendelle with all its amazing castles, markets, playgrounds, parks, harbours, and public spaces. All those places and the people who look after them need basic things to be able to do their job – water, lights, rubbish disposal, and ways of talking with each other.

My job is to figure out all the problems people are having with those things, and work with smart people at work to figure out how to solve them and make sure everything behind the scenes works seamlessly.

Because of what I do, the people of Arendelle can continue to enjoy all the things around them and the kingdom stays clean, organised, and beautiful.

And for the adults, what does that translate to in regards to your day-to-day?

We run a software platform at a massive scale globally and have many teams of engineers working on building new products and capabilities every week.

Essentially, we have two complex systems our business must manage – one is our software platform running in datacentres across the world, and the other is our own internal system for developing, testing, deploying, and maintaining our software.

Our department is dedicated to working on improving those two systems and making them more efficient, effective, safer, and more secure – our primary customers are internal engineering teams, customer support, and security.

Day-to-day, my job involves developing a deeper understanding of the systems we are responsible for, creating a vision for how we want these to look in future, and identifying what problems we need to solve and in what order (i.e. our strategy) to achieve our vision.

What are some of the common misconceptions about working in your role?

I think platform product management isn’t seen as a particularly “sexy” part of product management because you’re not necessarily working on a lot of front-end UX-related products.

However, my experience has shown me that this is probably one of the most underrated needs for software businesses.

One of the biggest constraints to growth and success in software is your ability to deliver value quickly and effectively to your customers – investing in the internal business environment is a key point of leverage in accelerating your business growth and your chances of long-term success (and it is far more effective than just hiring more engineers to build more things!).

Was working in tech something you dreamed about doing as a kid, if not what was?

I remember having a lot of changes growing up in what I wanted to do as a career – from a chemical engineer to a brain surgeon and then to a medical device engineer. So not specifically in the “tech” industry, but I always wanted to be involved in making a difference in the world in something to do with science and technology.

**Tell us a little bit more about your career journey and, ultimately, about how you ended up working at Plexure? **

I’ve had an interesting mix of roles in a few different industries – from healthcare software at Orion Health, to medical devices at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, consumer finance at Harmoney and consumer engagement/marketing software at Plexure.

Being totally honest, I first joined Plexure back in 2021 after getting a bit frustrated with how slow medical devices are to develop (for good reason of course!). I’m now back for a second time at Plexure and am absolutely loving it!

**What is the best piece of career advice you have ever received? **

I’m not sure if anyone said it to me in these exact words, but your career can thrive or die based on your ability to communicate and build relationships.

These “soft” skills are so underrated, and matter far more than you think in terms of your trajectory in your career and your life in general. Hard skills are important too and you need those, but to go further in your career you need to work on your soft skills too.

Lastly, as Plexure continues to grow and evolve, what are the key traits and characteristics of people who will be well-placed to work there?

If you can think well, learn quickly, communicate effectively, have a bias to action and continuous improvement, and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo we’d love to have you!