Technical Skills for Product Manager: Core Engineering Concepts & AI Prototyping

4.9 (17)

·

3 Weeks

·

Cohort-based Course

Get the technical understanding needed to accelerate your PM career - in just 2 weeks. No tech/coding skills needed.

Students from

Microsoft
Stripe
Booking.com
Adobe
Miro

Course overview

The technical understanding a successful PM needs - nothing more.

Why invest in learning with me?


I’m a Lead PM at Booking.com, and one of the first tech PMs there, with over 10 years in the field.


Before moving into product, I was a Software Developer and earned a PhD in Computer Science. I’ve worked on both sides and know exactly what technical understanding PMs need - and don't.


I'll teach you exactly what matters (and why) for driving products forward. You'll get the technical and AI-building fluency needed to drive your team, no coding, no database internals, no load balancers.


What can better technical understanding do for your career?


From a survey of 650 PMs, 56% want to speak the same language as their engineers to communicate effectively, and build trust.


61% want to estimate features on their own, so they can plan better and deliver on time.


And today, technical understanding also lets you quickly AI-prototype features to show it to real users.


Finally, if you want to land a Big Tech PM role, tech skills are critical.


What makes this course different?


➡️ The course is 20% theory and 80% hands-on: you’ll solve over 200 exercises, because that’s how real skills stick. (Try two free lessons below to learn new things even if you don’t enroll)


➡️ The course naturally offers you two very related skills: Tech foundation (part 1) allows you to lead your team more effectively. Then, if you think about it - AI is... just a non-human version of your team :) That's why in part 2 you apply Tech concepts to create features yourself. This enables you to understand tech even deeper and later turn your ideas into clickable features in minutes/hours (check 2 examples below: Spotify Clone and Cost Split App)


➡️ You can join even if you have zero knowledge about tech or AI-building


➡️ Over 1,500 students have already completed the course online or in person, on this platform and others. See reviews below.


➡️ Bonus: All alumni get a mini-simulator (SQL, ML/AI, Product Planning & Discovery) worth ~$100 to continue practicing core PM skills.


✅ The course structure explained


1️⃣ Live session: Tech 101s

We start with a Tech 101 live session.

In just 3 hours, you’ll learn (and immediately apply) the core concepts every PM should know: Frontend, Backend, Services, APIs, and Testing. If you only did this session, you’d already have the essentials down.


2️⃣ Practice Tech (200+ exercises)

Time to roll up your sleeves. You’ll work through a story-driven series of exercises based on real-life scenarios. You’ll build a Taxi app, evolve it into a Food delivery service, then a Scooter rental platform, and even a Spotify-like music app.

Along the way, you’ll master tech topics with your virtual colleagues: Daniel the bossy CEO, Jane the guiding Principal PM,

Ivar the eager Jr. PM (who always needs help), Helen, your sharp Engineering Manager, and more.


Curious if this hands-on style suits you?

Grab the free resource below, which is one full lesson from the API chapter, and see if solving 200+ exercises like this one sounds fun.


3️⃣ Live session: building a product architecture together

Once you’ve mastered the theory and practiced solo, we'll meet up again.

You’ll team up with other PMs to design an architecture, APIs, and more for a product idea (like a social network for car owners).

Students love this collaborative part.


4️⃣ Practice AI-prototyping (50+ exercises)

Back to hands-on mode this time with an AI-prototyping simulator.

- Start by cloning UI with simple prompts, then add more UI features.

- Next, bring in the database — suddenly it starts to feel real.

- Layer on backend logic to make it smarter.

- Finally, integrate an external API like OpenAI so your app becomes even more powerful.


🤖 Two examples of what you can do with AI:

- In 5 mins: the Spotify clone: now in another 10 mins I can imitate "Concerts nearby" feature and show to stakeholders instead of slides: https://productdo-spotify-clone-interface-demo.replit.app/

- In 3 hours: Fully functional CostSplit full-stack app: https://cost-split-mobile-demo-no-auth.replit.app/ (this app is part of the course, you'll build it yourself).


Want a taste? Grab another free resource below; it's the full lesson on UI feature creation. After this, you'll be able to add a feature to your Spotify clone all by yourself!


5️⃣ Live session: building a product from scratch using AI

Now we bring it all together. I’ll walk you through building a complete app, step by step. You’ll break into groups to handle the UI, backend, databases, APIs, and more. It’s going to be a lot of fun.


6️⃣ Advanced chapters and more

You’ll unlock advanced simulator chapters, allowing you to continue progressing at your own pace.

Additionally, you’ll receive complimentary access to mini-simulators worth approximately ~$100, covering topics such as SQL, ML/AI fundamentals, Product Planning, and Product Discovery.


Prerequisites to join the course



- No prior tech or AI experience needed

- If you want to participate in the AI-prototyping part, you need a Replit account (20$ for a month should be more than enough)

- Be ready to set aside 3 hours for Saturday's workshops and 2-3 hours during the week for self-practice

Who is this course for

01

Non-tech Product/Program Managers who want to communicate effectively with their teams and assess the real complexity of projects

02

PMs, designers, and marketers to prototype features in minutes/hours or even start their own side project

03

Entrepreneurs/founders who want to build confidence in a tech-driven world, create an MVP on their own, and hire the right team later

What you’ll get out of this course

Tech fluency to lead your team effectively

Understand all core concepts of tech and lead the team with "what/why" without getting into "how"

The skills to accurately estimate project scope and timelines

Build the ability to gauge development complexity, keeping your plans realistic and your launches on track

Preparation to handle technical interviews

Get ready for Big Tech PM interview questions like “Can you design the architecture for a Tinder/WhatsApp/Uber/etc?”

The ability to turn ideas into clickable prototypes

Clone your product’s UI, add interactive features, and wire up backend logic. All without writing code.

The power to build an MVP or start a side project on your own

Use AI to create full-stack apps (UI, backend, database, APIs) in just hours or days. No engineering background or coding needed.

What’s included

Vladimir Kalmykov | Lead PM @ Booking.com

Live sessions

Learn directly from Vladimir Kalmykov | Lead PM @ Booking.com in a real-time, interactive format.

Lifetime access

Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.

Community of peers

Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.

Certificate of completion

Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.

14 chapters of "Tech for PM" simulator

Tackle a hands-on series of exercises that build your product thinking and tech problem-solving skills.

8 chapters if "Full-stack AI prototyping" simulator

Work through practical challenges that teach you to prototype features and full-stack products more effectively.

Maven Guarantee

This course is backed by the Maven Guarantee. Students are eligible for a full refund up until the halfway point of the course.

Course syllabus

3 live sessions • 23 lessons

Week 1

Aug 16—Aug 17

    Aug

    16

    Workshop #1: core Tech topics

    Sat 8/162:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 2

Aug 18—Aug 24

    Module 1: Product Architecture

    4 items

    Module 2: Product APIs

    3 items

    Module 3: Tech Stack

    1 item

    Module 4: Product Monitoring, SLIs and SLOs

    3 items

    Module 5: Product Quality: Testing and Security

    2 items

    Module 6: Product Complexity Estimation framework and PRD-writing

    1 item

    Module 7: Final exam case: Music Streaming service

    1 item

    Aug

    23

    Workshop #2: building an architecture together

    Sat 8/232:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 3

Aug 25—Aug 30

    Prototyping simple UI-only features

    2 items

    Making a product smarter with logic backend and databases

    3 items

    Advanced topics

    1 item

    New CEO's idea: one more end-to-end use case

    1 item

    Aug

    30

    Workshop #3: Use tech skills to build a full-stack app AI

    Sat 8/302:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Post-course

    Advanced topics from two simulators

    1 item

4.9 (17 ratings)

What students are saying

Free resource

API for Product Managers

Learn what a PM should know about APIs in 5 examples: understand the concept and main terms (input, output, potential errors), and call a Taxi Order API yourself from your browser and even from Postman.


This is a full lesson, not a cut version.

Get this free resource

Free resource

AI-prototyping: creating UI-features without code

A full lesson on creating features with AI. You clone an existing product interface and bring a few ideas to life. You can immediately apply it to your own job, even without completing the full course. Enjoy!

Get this free resource

Meet your instructor

Vladimir Kalmykov | Lead PM @ Booking.com

Vladimir Kalmykov | Lead PM @ Booking.com

Lead PM @ Booking.com, PhD, 1500+ PMs learned Tech with me

  • PhD in Computer Science, Former developer
  • 10+ years in product management
  • Leads a department
  • 1500+ "Tech for PM" alumnis on various educational platforms
  • Author of hands-on courses on productdo.io

Career highlights

  • One of the first Tech PMs at Booking.com


  • Successfully delivered from 0 to 1 the Central Payments Platform in Booking.com (as a Sr. PM)

  • Currently responsible for the Connected Trip Platform for Booking.com (as a Group PM)

Course schedule

4-6 hours per week

  • Live workshop 1: Tech 101s

    Saturday 16:00 - 19:00 (Amsterdam time)

    In just 3 hours, you’ll learn (and immediately apply) the core concepts every PM should know: Frontend, Backend, Services, APIs, and Testing. If you only did this session, you’d already have the essentials down.


  • Simulator practice: "Tech for PMs" (200+ exercises)

    1 week until next Saturday

    Time to roll up your sleeves. You’ll work through a story-driven series of exercises based on real-life scenarios. You’ll build a Taxi app, evolve it into a Food delivery service, then a Scooter rental platform, and even a Spotify-like music app.

  • Live workshop 2: architecture of a start-up

    Saturday 16:00-19:00 (Amsterdam time)

    Once you’ve mastered the theory and practiced solo, we'll meet up again.

    You’ll team up with other PMs to design an architecture, APIs, and more for a product idea (like a social network for car owners).

    Students love this collaborative part.

  • Simulator practice: "Full-stack AI-prototyping" (50+ exercises)

    1 week until next Saturday

    Back to hands-on mode this time with an AI-prototyping simulator.

    - Start by cloning UI, and then add more UI features.

    - Next, bring in the database — suddenly it starts to feel real.

    - Layer on backend logic to make it smarter.

    - Finally, integrate an external API like OpenAI

  • Live Workshop #3: building a Service Architecture together

    Saturday 16:00-19:00 (Amsterdam time)

    Now we bring the AI-prototyping concepts all together. I’ll walk you through building a complete app, step by step. You’ll break into groups to handle the UI, backend, databases, APIs, and more. It’s going to be a lot of fun.


  • Advanced chapters and more

    Any time after the cohort's end

    You’ll unlock advanced simulator chapters, allowing you to continue progressing at your own pace. You also get access to other simulators to continue growing your PM skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Join an upcoming cohort

Technical Skills for Product Manager: Core Engineering Concepts & AI Prototyping

Cohort Aug'25

$1,199

Dates

Aug 16—30, 2025

Payment Deadline

Aug 15, 2025
Get reimbursed

$1,199

4.9 (17)

·

3 Weeks