Every exciting idea brings an opportunity to make an impact. Turning that vision into reality takes thoughtful planning, collaboration and a shared commitment to delivering results.
When work moves between departments and specialists, the next person needs to understand what they’re taking on and what success looks like. Those handovers help turn big ideas into performance.
At Atlassian Williams F1 Team, Product Delivery Managers like Alejandro Garcia bring people together to deliver technology projects across the team. Here, he shares what makes F1 product delivery so rewarding, and why teamwork is essential to creating the winning formula.
What does an F1 product delivery manager do?
F1 product delivery connects technical ambition with the people who can help achieve it. For Alejandro, that means leading projects with technology partners and understanding where their expertise can make a difference while helping colleagues put it to use.
Alejandro’s impact extends across performance development and into manufacturing, with opportunities to shape the future of how we work. As he explains:
“I lead the execution of the highly ambitious technology initiatives being delivered. It could be all the way from performance development through to composites manufacturing, all aimed towards trying to deliver changes in the way that we perform as a team.”
The importance of handovers in F1 engineering projects
Think about a development being passed from one specialist to another. If the next person has to chase an explanation or clarify an unresolved decision, progress can grind to a halt. A useful handover gives them enough understanding to move forward confidently, with someone available to answer questions.
Alejandro puts the emphasis firmly on collective delivery:
“I don’t think there’s something that you can individually deliver in this sport, as everything has to happen in quite a collective way. Something that I’m very happy that I’ve contributed towards is demonstrating the value and the difference it makes when you have a team that’s in sync, that understands the objectives and the trajectory we need to get to those outcomes.”
At Williams, we work as one to succeed. That means taking responsibility for your contribution while caring about what the next person needs from you. Offering help early keeps a small uncertainty from becoming a bigger problem.
Connecting F1 performance development and manufacturing
To coordinate work across technical teams, you need to understand the connective tissue between their decisions. Alejandro describes learning the flow of development, including how engineers explore ideas and how those ideas become designs that can be manufactured.
Tools such as computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, help engineers study airflow around a car. Further along, manufacturing expertise helps turn designs into physical parts. Knowing what each stage needs helps Alejandro see where a technology partner could make real impact:
“It’s understanding the flow of development, all the way from the regulations, what we’re allowed to test, how we’re allowed to develop the car in the wind tunnel, through CFD, through some of our simulation tools, and which partners we can work with to help us maximise all of that.”
“Then, once all of those ideas and concepts turn into designs, it’s about finding who we can work with to manufacture parts in the fastest, but also the most innovative way possible.”
That interest in better ways of working is shared across the factory, including in our methods engineering careers. By looking beyond an individual task, colleagues can spot improvements that help others deliver too.
Bringing bold ideas into F1 product delivery
Alejandro enjoys taking on a challenge. Asked which skill matters most in his job, he points to recognising a good opportunity, however unusual it might initially sound.
Giving an unfamiliar idea a fair hearing creates room for innovation. Exploring it with colleagues brings different perspectives into the discussion and helps establish what it could achieve. Alejandro describes the appeal of the role:
“Right now, we’re working on very ambitious projects with some of the technology that we’re developing. It’s quite exciting because we do think they’re big steep changes in the way that we can bring in new concepts, bring in performance and also bring parts to the track quite quickly.”
The ambition is clear, and so is the need to keep learning. When an approach needs refining, sharing feedback and adapting together helps the team maintain momentum.
Developing a product delivery career at Atlassian Williams F1 Team
Alejandro’s first role here was Project Manager for Chassis, Bodywork and Wings. Working with colleagues to bring upgrades forward helped him understand the team, experience he now draws on when coordinating longer-term technology projects.
His development has also come through people being willing to invest time in him. He credits his first manager with having career-shaping conversations with him. Supporting others is something Alejandro wants to keep doing himself:
“I’ve always enjoyed leading groups of people and finding the best way to help the people around me achieve their goals. That is something that Williams currently enables me to do, and it’s something that I don’t think I’ll ever want to stop doing.”
That’s how we help each other unleash potential. Sharing knowledge builds confidence, while understanding another person’s ambitions helps you give support that matters to them.
Find your place in F1 product delivery
At Wiliams, our next chapter will be shaped by people who want to help an iconic team move forward, and who understand the value of bringing others with them.
If you enjoy connecting technical expertise to a shared goal, explore our current opportunities or join our talent community to help us create the winning formula, one well-delivered project at a time.
