Nick Rackley | Product Strategy & Technology Leader

About

A rare combination: business strategy, deep engineering, and proven leadership.

Most product managers come from either a business or a technical background. I bring both — and a decade of hard-won leadership on top.

At T-Mobile, I built the industry business plan for 5G alongside the CTO and major telecom partners, drove the reallocation of over $3 billion in capital, and restructured an IT organization of 4,000+ engineers after benchmarking developer efficiency against Apple.

Before that, I served as a Captain in the United States Army, leading 80+ personnel and $30M in equipment through combat deployments and earning the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Ranger Tab.

Now I'm completing my MS in Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington — building autonomous robots with LIDAR, PID controllers, and deep reinforcement learning — because I believe the best product leaders understand the technology at the deepest level.

Based in the Pacific Northwest

Kirkland, WA — minutes from the campuses of Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta. Open to relocation and remote.

Experience

From the battlefield to the boardroom.

T-Mobile 2020 — Present

Senior Corporate Strategy Manager

Bellevue, WA

Built the 5G business plan. Collaborated with the T-Mobile CTO, major European and U.S. telecoms, and anti-trust attorneys to financially model and price novel Network API products.
Reallocated $3B+ in capital. Led a team to develop a technology capability framework, aligning 14 VP+ stakeholders and driving weekly problem-solving with 2x EVPs across 5 SLT sessions.
Restructured 4,000+ engineers. Analyzed T-Mobile's IT engineering operating model via process diagrams and comparative analysis against Apple; evangelized findings to 400+ leaders.
Sized a 3M+ customer market. Used Teradata SQL and Python to analyze device-network mismatch and identify an innovation product opportunity.

T-Mobile Summer 2019

MBA Intern — Technology Strategic Planning (L2E)

Bellevue, WA

Pioneered a product management training program. Developed a persona technique tied to customer insights research and created four hours of course content — approved for enterprise-wide adoption by the SVP of Technology.

United States Army 2010 — 2018

Captain

United States & Afghanistan

Led 80+ personnel and $30M in equipment. Drove 30+ programs and KPIs; optimized two administrative processes so effectively that improvements were distributed Army-wide.
Adapted a $5M software system. Developed new policies and procedures, then advised 10 peer organizations on optimal implementation approaches.
Won a defensive battle period. As acting Brigade Fire Support Officer at the National Training Center, developed a fire support plan that destroyed an enemy OPFOR tank battalion at depth.
Communicated at scale. Delivered three speeches to 150+ personnel and served as master of ceremonies for two high-visibility events.

Capabilities

The toolkit I bring to a product team.

Product Strategy

Built and pitched the industry 5G business plan. Modeled pricing for novel Network API products. Sized markets of 3M+ customers with SQL and Python.

Technical Depth

MS in Electrical Engineering. Built autonomous robots with LIDAR, PID controllers, A* planning, and deep reinforcement learning on ROS2. Fluent in Python, C++, and SQL.

Executive Leadership

Aligned 14 VP+ stakeholders. Commanded 80+ soldiers in combat. Restructured 4,000+ engineers. Comfortable in the room with C-suite and on the ground with engineers.

Operational Excellence

Optimized processes adopted Army-wide. Drove 30+ programs and KPIs simultaneously. Built training programs approved at the SVP level for enterprise rollout.

Emerging Technology

5G Network APIs, IoT sensors, autonomous robotics, LIDAR localization, and deep reinforcement learning. I don't just manage roadmaps — I understand the stack.

Mission-Driven Execution

Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Ranger Tab. I deliver under pressure, communicate clearly at every level, and never lose sight of the objective.

Education

Three degrees. Zero gaps between business and technology.

In Progress

MS, Electrical Engineering

University of Washington

Seattle, WA · Expected 2024

Implemented LIDAR and kinematic Particle Filter localization, PID and Model Predictive controllers, and A* search planning for autonomous navigation
Built an experimental robot from scratch — 3D printing, electronics assembly, C++ firmware, Python face/emotion detection, and deep reinforcement learning on ROS2

2020

MBA

Yale School of Management

New Haven, CT

Co-President, Veterans Club · Alumni Communications Chair, Graduate Rugby · Entrepreneurship Club
Built an LTE-M connected IoT sensor in a graduate electrical engineering capstone

2010

BS, Physics

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA

Minor in Mathematics · Army ROTC
Applied quantitative modeling to improve computer hard drive performance alongside a physics professor

Purple Heart

Bronze Star Medal

Ranger Tab

Beyond Work

The rest of the story.

Cellular communication tower against blue sky

50 States, 9 Countries

From Afghanistan to Iceland to Japan — I've traveled to all 50 states and nine countries. Curiosity is a way of life.

Bonnie & Clyde

A Great Dane and a Retriever who keep things interesting. Dog lover through and through.

Avid Outdoorsman

Whether it's the Cascades or a deployment in Kyrgyzstan, the outdoors is where I recharge and think clearly.

Contact

Let's build something consequential.

I'm actively exploring senior product management roles in big tech. If your team needs a leader who can speak fluently with engineers, executives, and customers — let's talk.

Email ncr5012@gmail.com

Phone (717) 579-3941

Location Kirkland, WA 98034