JaredK.
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A Product Manager who can work with engineers

8 years building and delivering internal and customer-facing products, across engineering and product.

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About Me

Hey there! I’m Jared Konarska.

I started my career as a software engineer, but quickly realized that for me, the most satisfying moments weren’t in the code. They were in the early planning — figuring out what actually needed to be built — and seeing how real users interacted with what we shipped.

I embrace the mess

I’m often pulled into work where requirements are half-formed and ownership isn’t clear. My first move is aligning on what problem we’re actually solving, what’s in or out of scope, and what the team can realistically ship next.

I start by shipping small

I always try to focus on shipping the smallest useful version, watching how it’s used, and letting real constraints shape what comes next, rather than recklessly swinging for the fences everytime.

I speak engineer (without overstepping)

I started as an engineer, so I’m comfortable getting into edge cases, data shape, and system behavior early, without trying to design the solution myself.

I focus on impact, not output

The work I’m proudest of usually removes steps, errors, or manual work. I care more about making the system better than checking a box.

Example Feature

A recent, real-world feature I owned

Hidden Items Reports (HIR)

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Project Snapshot

About
Hidden Item Reports (HIR) are generated by admin users when adding new items to the system. Hidden items act as drafts and are not visible to customers until they are reviewed and published. HIRs list all current hidden items so teams can review, edit, and take action before publication.
Trigger
Increased HIR usage in Q4 exposed a slow, manual reporting workflow that was creating errors and rework across teams.
Users
Admin and content teams responsible for reviewing, editing, and approving new catalog items.
Success
Eliminate manual copy/paste steps, reduce error risk, and keep the entire HIR workflow within the system.
Project
Hidden Items Reports (HIR)
Timeline
Q4 2025 – Q1 2026
Role
Product Owner
Company
WebstaurantStore
Team
Cross-functional (Engineering, QA, BA, Content)
Goal
Reduce manual effort and error risk in the HIR workflow

Problem / User Pain

Manual, error-prone reporting that pushed review work outside the system

Admin and content teams had to generate an HIR email, then manually convert it into an editable Word document to review and share — introducing delays and mistakes.

Frequency

Repeated workflow for each report cycle

Failure mode

Copy/paste formatting issues + manual edits introduced errors

Cost

Extra steps, rework, and back-and-forth to validate accuracy

  • Time-consuming and repetitive
  • Error-prone due to copy/paste and manual edits
  • Required work outside the system (Word doc creation)

Previous workflow

Generate HIR Email → Copy email body → Paste into Word doc → Make edits → Share doc

Solution Overview

Automatically generate and download a Word document instead of forcing users to copy/paste content manually.

This approach preserved the existing review workflow while removing the most error-prone steps, allowing teams to adopt the change immediately without retraining or process disruption.

  • Automatically generate a Word document containing the same report content as the HIR email
  • Auto-download the .docx to the user’s device for quick edits and sharing
  • Reduce manual steps and human error

Alternatives considered

  • PDF export — rejected due to limited editability during review
  • In-app editing — rejected due to scope and timeline constraints

Out of scope (v1)

  • Upload / store document in SharePoint (planned for Phase 2)

New workflow

Generate HIR Email → Auto-generate & download document → Make edits → Share doc

Approach

Shipped the core workflow win first, then sequenced integration work.

My role: Owned scope, phased delivery, and acceptance criteria; aligned stakeholders and partnered with engineering through release.

PHASING

Backlog / phased delivery

High-level scope to reduce manual HIR workflow without overbuilding v1.

Decision principle

Optimize for fastest time-to-value, preserve existing review habits, and defer integrations until the core workflow proved adoption.

  1. 1

    Phase 1 (Q4 2025)

    • Create and download HIR Word document
  2. 2

    Phase 2 (Q1 2026)

    • Automatically store HIR Word document to SharePoint

We delivered the highest-impact workflow reduction first, then deferred deeper integrations until the core value was proven.

CONSTRAINTS

Tradeoffs & decisions

The explicit “no’s” that prevented scope creep while still removing the biggest sources of manual work.

Scope vs. Time-to-Value

  • Deferred SharePoint upload to Phase 2
  • Prioritized core Word download to deliver value in Q4

PDF vs. Word Output

  • PDF would match email formatting 1:1
  • Stakeholders required Word to support the editing workflow

Formatting vs. Maintainability

  • Reused the email template to keep scope contained
  • Avoided duplicate templates and long-term tech debt

Outcome & What’s Next

Outcome

Removed the most error-prone manual steps from the HIR workflow, eliminating copy/paste edits that happened every reporting cycle.

What improved

Less copy/paste, fewer formatting issues, less rework

Risk reduced

Manual editing errors and missed fields during review

Adoption

Minimal workflow change — teams could use it immediately

Delivered

  • Removed manual email-to-Word conversion from the workflow
  • Delivered the Q4 objective by eliminating steps and reducing error risk

Looking ahead

  • Begin Phase 2 (SharePoint upload)
  • Assess formatting improvements if user demand warrants it
  • Measure adoption and gather feedback on the new workflow

Reflection

In a future iteration, I would validate downstream formatting and sharing expectations earlier to reduce follow-up tweaks — but prioritizing a low-disruption v1 let us ship value fast and iterate based on real usage.

Execution details

How I define scope, drive delivery, and validate outcomes.

PRODUCT BACKLOG ITEM

Auto-generate & download Hidden Item Report (.docx)

Inputs

Admin + content feedback, current workflow constraints, support/rework patterns

Decisions

Preserve review workflow, remove manual conversion steps, keep v1 tight

Validation plan

Confirm document accuracy/formatting, adoption by teams, and reduced rework

USER STORY

As a HIR user, when I generate a Hidden Item Report, I want a Word document to be automatically created and downloaded so I can review, edit, and share the report with my team without manually copying content from an email.

OUT OF SCOPE (V1)

  • Automatic sharing or uploading to external systems (e.g., SharePoint)
  • Custom document formatting beyond basic readability

ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

  • Given a user clicks “Generate HIR,” then a .docx file is generated containing the same report content as the HIR email
  • The document includes all selected Hidden Items
  • The generated file is automatically downloaded to the user’s device
  • File name format: YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS – Hidden Item Review (# of items)
  • Multiple Hidden Items are represented in a single document
  • If generation fails, show an error and do not download a partial file
  • The document is editable upon download

DELIVERY LOOP

BEFORE DEV

  • Gathered requirements from stakeholders and confirmed alignment with business goals
  • Led refinement and scoring of the feature
  • Aligned stakeholders on scope and release timing

DURING DEV

  • Primary point of contact for questions; clarified requirements quickly
  • Conducted acceptance testing in DEV once the work cleared QA

RELEASE

  • Notified stakeholders the feature was prepared for release
  • Released to PROD and wrote detailed release notes
  • Followed up to confirm the workflow worked as expected in PROD

AFTER RELEASE

  • Validate document output with admin/content teams (accuracy + formatting)
  • Confirm workflow adoption and remove remaining “work outside the system”
  • Capture follow-up requests and sequence v2 work based on usage

Experience

WebstaurantStore logo
WebstaurantStore

Product Owner

August 2025 – Present

  • Own and maintain product roadmaps and backlogs for SQL-based systems and internal content tools, aligning delivery with business and operational priorities.
  • Define product requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria in collaboration with developers, BAs, and stakeholders.
  • Partner with cross-functional teams to identify KPIs, measure feature impact, and drive continuous improvement.

Wound Care Advantage logo
Wound Care Advantage

Software Engineer (Product-Focused)

June 2023 – May 2025

  • Partnered with PMs and stakeholders to define, scope, and deliver features under tight timelines.
  • Built an internal analytics platform used by clinical and finance teams, driving data-informed decisions across 3M+ treatments.
  • Led development of gamified learning tools such as “Woundle”, from concept to launch using iterative user feedback.

Verse.ai logo
Verse.ai

Senior Software Engineer

April 2022 – January 2023

  • Led redesign of the Capture settings dashboard, improving usability through better navigation and modular architecture.
  • Partnered with product and design teams to deliver high-impact UI/UX improvements across React and Angular platforms.
  • Mentored junior engineers and contributed to agile planning and feature discussions.

Seismic logo
Seismic

Senior Software Engineer I

February 2020 – April 2022

  • Shipped performance enhancements for the DocCenter iOS app and redesigned key UI components using Seismic’s design system.
  • Developed a reusable timestamp component used across multiple products for consistency and maintainability.
  • Worked closely with product and UX to modernize the user interface.

Verse.ai logo
Verse.ai

Software Engineer

November 2017 – February 2020

  • Led modernization of the internal Concierge Console, reducing tech debt and improving maintainability to support faster, more predictable product delivery.
  • Improved reliability of real-time customer and agent workflows by replacing a fragile WebSocket implementation, reducing live-session failures and support issues.
  • Partnered with product and design to redesign the Customer Portal experience, increasing retention and reducing support tickets through clearer flows and self-service configuration.