Jette Erdmann

Why this persona fits the audience

She manages a 9-person platform team at a Munich AI infrastructure startup serving enterprise developers. The team already uses Lago for usage metering and entitlement rules around API keys, and she reviews how request counts and model tiers feed into billing and customer dashboards.

• Age: 41
• Location: Munich, Germany
• Occupation: Engineering Manager
• Income: €125,000 base
• Education: MSc in Computer Science
• Company size: 50-100 employees
• Years in role: 5

“Predictability in our systems directly translates to trust with our customers; that's the foundation we build upon.”

Jette Erdmann, 41, is an Engineering Manager at a burgeoning AI infrastructure startup based in Munich. Holding an MSc in Computer Science from the Technical University of Munich, she has cultivated a career focused on building robust, scalable backend systems. Her professional journey began in larger, established tech firms, where she honed her skills in distributed systems and cloud architecture. However, the dynamic environment and direct impact offered by a startup appealed to her desire for tangible results and faster iteration cycles. She joined her current company five years ago, initially as a senior engineer, and was promoted to her current management role three years ago, tasked with leading the platform team responsible for the core infrastructure that powers their AI services. Her team of nine engineers is instrumental in ensuring the reliability, performance, and efficient resource utilization of the company's offerings, particularly for their enterprise clientele. Jette's current strategic focus is heavily influenced by the company's revenue model, which relies on precise usage-based billing. She is deeply involved in overseeing and optimizing the systems that track API requests, model consumption, and other key metrics. This involves ensuring the accuracy of data fed into their billing engine and maintaining the integrity of customer-facing dashboards that display usage and costs. She champions technical rigor, demanding well-documented, thoroughly tested solutions, and believes strongly in the principle of fairness, both within her team and in how the company charges its customers. Her approach to management is hands-on, preferring to understand the technical challenges her team faces rather than delegating blindly. She is driven by a desire for order and predictability in complex systems, seeing them as essential for both operational stability and customer satisfaction. While her career is paramount, she consciously carves out time for her family and her passion for alpine hiking, finding that these pursuits provide necessary balance and perspective.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Jette's day typically begins around 7:00 AM with a quick check of urgent alerts and team communications before her children leave for school. Her workday starts at 9:00 AM with a stand-up meeting for her platform team, discussing progress, blockers, and priorities. The rest of her morning is often spent in technical deep-dives, reviewing architecture proposals, or collaborating with product managers on upcoming features. After a brief lunch, her afternoon might involve mentoring sessions with junior engineers, performance reviews, or meetings with other department heads to align on infrastructure needs. She aims to wrap up by 6:00 PM to be home for family dinner, though urgent issues can sometimes extend her day.

Lifestyle

Jette balances a demanding career with family life in a comfortable apartment in Munich. Weekends often involve family outings, sometimes to the nearby Alps for hiking, a passion she shares with her husband. She values routine and order, which extends to her home life, ensuring a predictable rhythm for her children. While not extravagant, she is financially responsible, prioritizing long-term security over immediate gratification. She enjoys quiet evenings with classical music or reading technical journals, finding solace in structured leisure activities that complement her professional focus.

Work life

Jette leads a 9-person platform engineering team at an AI infrastructure startup. Her days are a mix of strategic planning, code reviews, and team management. She's deeply involved in ensuring the reliability and scalability of their AI services for enterprise clients. A significant part of her current focus is on refining their usage metering and entitlement systems, specifically how API key requests and model tier usage translate into accurate billing and clear customer-facing dashboards. She collaborates closely with product and finance teams, translating technical capabilities into business value.

Relationships

Jette is married to a software architect, and they navigate their busy careers and family life collaboratively. She has a close-knit group of former university colleagues she occasionally meets for technical discussions. Within her company, she fosters a supportive environment for her team, acting as a mentor and advocate, earning their respect through her technical acumen and fairness.

How they decide

Jette approaches decisions methodically. She gathers data, consults relevant team members, and weighs technical feasibility against business impact. She prefers well-defined processes and predictable outcomes, often creating internal documentation or checklists to ensure consistency before committing to a course of action. She is not impulsive and will research thoroughly before implementing significant changes.

How they sound

Speaks with a clear, measured cadence. Her tone is professional and direct, but not cold. She avoids excessive jargon when speaking to non-technical colleagues but is precise and uses technical terms accurately with her team. She rarely uses slang and prefers formal German in most professional contexts, though she might use English technical terms naturally. She is articulate and thoughtful, often pausing to formulate her responses.