Scott Crider joined the AutoCAD team in 2016 after graduating from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. When a product management job opened up on the AutoCAD team, he jumped at the opportunity to work on a world-class software product at an innovative company that reflected his personal values. Here, Crider shares what it’s like to work on the team and what some people might not realize about the product.
What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
I have specific product management responsibilities for building the next generation of AutoCAD. These responsibilities include understanding customer needs, prioritizing development work, and facilitating communication.
Additionally, I have more general product management responsibilities that include managing contracts, conducting research and strategic analysis, and working with marketing to provide content to our users.
What is your favorite part of the job?
Seeing the creative ways that customers use our products is always exciting, but my favorite part of the job is getting to work with such amazing engineers. The engineers on the AutoCAD team are incredibly impressive in their domain knowledge and their sheer intellectual horsepower. I learn from them every single day.
What’s your favorite AutoCAD command?
Zoom Extents.
And favorite AutoCAD feature?
It hasn’t been released yet; ask me in two months.
What are you most proud of about your work on AutoCAD?
I am proud to be a steward of the AutoCAD legacy. We are continuously improving a tool that millions of people use to express themselves and support their families. Our team is working to expand on this great history and prepare AutoCAD to be successful for the next 35 years.
When you tell friends and family that you work on AutoCAD, what is their response?
My uncle teaches shop and woodworking to high school students in Ottawa, IL, so he was very excited to hear that I chose to work for a company that supports makers.
What do you do in your spare time?
I love to play soccer. We have three Bay Area soccer teams competing at the Autodesk Soccer Tournament in June, including the PDG Hammers. In addition, I also advise several startups in the Bay Area on strategy, product, and marketing.
Behind the Scenes of the AutoCAD Team is a series spotlighting Autodesk employees devoted to developing AutoCAD further every day. Check out all of the installments here.
