When working in a remote and distributed environment, it’s very easy for meetings to become purely transactional, which can interfere with building connections and staying engaged, Jaspreet Monga, a technical program manager at Mozilla, works hard to engage with colleagues worldwide. With nearly five years at Mozilla, Jaspreet has been able to balance traditional program management skills with his energetic and positive attitude to drive forward many of Mozilla’s projects. Plus, his passion for trivia has helped him connect with Mozillians both online and in-person. Jaspreet shareshow his curiosity and insatiable desire for knowledge help keep teams and projects moving forward.
First, tell us about your role at Mozilla.
I’m currently a staff program manager at Mozilla and have been here for nearly five years. During my time, I’ve had the chance to work on a variety of projects — about nine or ten10 — and I’ve collaborated with different teams across Mozilla. My role isn’t purely technical nor simply program management. It varies significantly compared to other program managers, as our team tackles a diverse range of tasks. My responsibilities include traditional program management such as interfacing with leadership, legal, business and product development. Additionally, I focus on building holistic program management strategies and work closely with other program managers.
On a day-to-day basis, I’m involved in the execution of projects, coordinating efforts and ensuring everything runs smoothly. I often step in at the beginning of projects, hand things over when needed, and act as a builder, connector and facilitator to keep things moving forward.
Can you tell us about your background and how you ended up at Mozilla?
At university in Canada, I had a planned career path in mind, starting with studying space engineering and computer science. However, I left university and began working at Apple Retail. There, I handled B2B sales for education, working with school districts and high schools during the iPad 2 era. It was exciting to collaborate with larger enterprises and government organizations.
After leaving Apple, I started my own consultancy, which taught me a lot about project management. I ran that consultancy for several years before transitioning into the marketing world. As I was winding down my company, I took on roles in marketing project management, where I developed a passion for marketing, advertising and digital strategies. I continued in this field for several years until I joined Mozilla.
During that time, I was involved in onboarding new CRM systems like Salesforce, helping customers integrate them into their ecosystems. My background is a blend of running my own tech consultancy and working as a project/product manager. This mix of experiences has equipped me with a diverse skill set that I’ve brought to my role at Mozilla.
After being laid off from my last agency, I was searching for new opportunities when a recruiter from Mozilla reached out to me. It was like a childhood geek dream come true! I grew up without internet access, so, when the internet was born, I started using Netscape. Then, I discovered Firefox, and eventually moved to Chrome when it first came out. It resembles my own journey through tech and IT, which has always been about exploring what’s new and groundbreaking. Mozilla Firefox was a company I had used since way back when. I didn’t initially know much about their open-source roots, but as I researched, I discovered what Mozilla had become and what values it had retained.
There’s a difference between researching a company and having personal anecdotes about it for decades. Seeing Mozilla grow, evolve and even face challenges was fascinating. The job I landed was in co-development partnerships and working on tokenizing payment in the browser. Then, COVID hit. Eventually, we took the code we developed and integrated it into our autofill credit card form. It’s a project I’m really proud of being a part of.
After working on form autofill, I collaborated on hackathon projects, including a playlist curation tool with Emanuela Daimani called MyList. This tool aimed to create a unified playlist from various streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime and YouTube, making it easier to watch your favorite content without switching apps. It was a proof of concept we were excited about.
Since November, I’ve been working on a variety of projects from working with the marketing team on the transition of a new customer engagement platform, and the Mozilla Internet Ecosystem (MEICO) program, as well as contributing to the content and machine learning teams for the Firefox new tab project.
As a Technical Program Manager, what is your technical background?
I studied computer science at university, so I have a solid understanding of the fundamentals, even though I don’t code much today. Within a week of joining a new team, I make it a point to listen to their stand-ups to get a sense of how things work. I’m always open to asking what might seem like “stupid” questions because I believe there’s no shame in seeking clarity — everyone has those questions.
I encourage a culture where we can spend 15 minutes breaking things down to understand them better. This approach fosters vulnerability and brings the team closer together. For instance, while working with the Machine Learning team, I might not fully grasp everything initially, but I make an effort to learn every day. I often Google new technologies and willingly dive into the deep end to stay current.
So, what’s your secret to quickly learning about new technologies?
My approach starts with personal curiosity. While AI is the biggest buzzword in tech right now, I don’t use AI tools myself because they don’t solve my specific problems as a creator. I’m also cautious about supporting companies that train their models on stolen data. I believe in understanding how people use technology from a broader perspective.
I draw inspiration from seeing how my parents transitioned from typewriters to computers, which made their work faster and more efficient. I aim to get 80-90% of the way there with new tech, which gives me a solid jumping-off point for deeper research. When I’m assigned to a new project, my natural curiosity kicks in. I dive into learning about the people involved and the relevant technologies, almost like a trivia enthusiast uncovering new facts.
What challenges you at Mozilla?
One of the biggest challenges I face is that almost every project I’ve worked on has been shut down. It’s tough because I can’t control executive buy-in, the longevity of a project, or how success is perceived by external parties. Despite this, I don’t let it get me down.
For instance, when Hubs was shut down, it was disappointing. However, the Hubs community is so passionate and strong that it keeps me motivated. They even turned Hubs into its own foundation. As an extrovert, I thrive on getting to know people, understanding what they’re working on and sharing their excitement.
I focus on building connections and facilitating collaboration. Even when projects end, I stay engaged with the people involved and look forward to what they’re working on next. This network of relationships allows us to come together quickly on new projects and create something great. My role involves a lot of facilitation and introductions, helping us make magic together faster each time.
You are based in Canada. How do you collaborate with the multiple teams you’ve worked on at Mozilla?
When I first started, I visited our Toronto office. One of the first people I met there was Andrew Overholt, who quickly became a good friend — and it also helped that we both enjoyed karaoke! He helped introduce me to others in the office and helped grow my initial network of Mozillians. Being in the room and meeting new people face-to-face at the Toronto office helped me stay connected with my distributed team.
I make it a point to regularly connect with colleagues, whether through Slack messages or emails. If I need to ask someone something, I look them up in the organization chart and reach out without hesitation. This open communication helps me stay sane in a distributed environment.
Meeting colleagues during work weeks is also crucial. Seeing someone in person, sharing a drink or coffee, and translating that online connection to an in-person bond makes future collaboration much smoother. There’s no awkward “get to know you” phase, which is a huge benefit.
At Mozilla, people often move around within different organizations and teams, so we all stay connected. It feels like a small world, where everyone is just a few degrees of separation away from each other. This strong sense of community makes collaboration in a remote setup much easier and more effective.
Trivia time with Mozilla’s employee resource group, Latinzilla
We hear you’re a trivia enthusiast. Can you tell us about the #trivia slack channel at Mozilla.
Trivia has been a lifelong passion for me. Growing up in India, I was part of a trivia team and loved soaking up knowledge. When I moved to Canada for high school, I competed at the provincial level with my best friend, and we were a cutthroat duo. Trivia has always been a fun, competitive outlet for me.
When COVID hit, I lost one of my favorite hobbies and decided to create a trivia channel on the company Slack board. I messaged a few folks and posted about it on the company Slack channel, MoCo. I reached out to friends and family, saying, “I’m bored, let’s get together, host trivia, and hang out.” This quickly became a weekly event that has been going strong for four years.
We’ve had some fantastic moments, like a virtual all-hands with 55 participants. We’ve even taken trivia on the road! During MozWeek (formerly known as All Hands) in Hawaii, we hosted an in-person trivia night in an open area with over 40 people, including my manager and director. I bought random prizes from a dollar store like face masks, funny glasses and sidewalk chalk, making it a lot of fun.
In Montreal, we had almost 60 people participate, and between rounds, we even had a magic show thanks to our in-house magician who is also part of the legal team. He did some magic tricks, and it was a hit. At MozWeek in August, we’re planning to do the same event in Dublin — trivia hopefully followed by another magic show to close the night. It’s been an incredible way to stay connected and have fun, even in a remote work environment.
What are you looking forward to right now?
I’m really looking forward to the upcoming company meeting, MozWeek, in a new country. It’s a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with everyone and meet new colleagues. I’m especially excited to work closely with my new team members—Carolyn, Shruti and Amber. Together, we’ll be leading the team responsible for the Firefox front page that everyone first sees when they use the browser. It’s an exciting challenge, and I can’t wait to see the magic we create together!