Julie Zhuo
Julie Zhuo writes about building products, leading teams, and growing as a person through The Looking Glass and The Making of a Manager, drawing on a career in design and as a Sundial co-founder.
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Latest
Julie’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
- The Making of a Manager2019 · Author; revised edition in 2025
Book - The Looking Glass: Our Souls Need Proof of Work2025 · Essay on effort and well-being in the age of AI
Substack - The Death of Product Development as We Know it2025 · Essay, with insights from Henry Modisett
Substack - Seeing Excellence: How to Spot a World-Class Designer2026 · Interview with Soleio Cuervo
Interview
Overview
- Work
- Author, product designer, and co-founder
- Education
- Computer science, Stanford University
- Early career
- Joined Facebook in 2006 as an engineering intern
- First management role
- Became a manager at 25
- Breakout book
- The Making of a Manager (2019), a Wall Street Journal bestseller
- Writing
- The Looking Glass: products, teams, and personal growth
Mini bio
How it started.
Julie studied computer science at Stanford and joined Facebook in 2006 as an engineering intern. A love of digital illustration and making websites led naturally toward design. Early work included photos and Facebook Platform, followed by projects involving News Feed, the Like button, and video.
Learning to lead.
Becoming a manager at 25 brought plenty of uncertainty. Julie eventually became Facebook’s vice president of product design, but the awkward early experiences remained useful material. Blogging began as a way to think more clearly; hundreds of thousands of readers later found those reflections.
The book fans pass along.
The Making of a Manager grew out of wanting a practical guide to the basics: one-to-ones, meetings, hiring, feedback, and team culture. Published in 2019, it became a Wall Street Journal bestseller. A revised 2025 edition addresses remote work and leading through difficult periods.
Still building and asking questions.
Julie co-founded the analytics company Sundial with Chandra Narayanan and continued publishing The Looking Glass. Recent writing explores AI, creativity, and personal growth, alongside interviews about excellence in design and sales. In October 2026, Meta announced that Julie and members of the Sundial team were joining the company.
Creditschronological, newest first
Books
Writing and interviews
- 2026How to Spot a World-Class DesignerInterviewer and writer, with Soleio Cuervo
- 2026The Art and Excellence of SalesInterviewer and writer, with David Fischer
- 2025The Death of Product Development as We Know itWriter, with insights from Henry Modisett
Awards
Quotes
I decided to write the book I wish I had when I was 25.Julie Zhuo, Books by women interview (April 12, 2019)
Trivia
- Julie loved digital illustration and spent free time in Photoshop before moving from engineering into design.
- Reading Nicole Krauss’s The History of Love in college inspired a still-unfulfilled ambition to become a novelist.
- Julie keeps old digital files, including teenage websites and saved AIM conversations, and has used AI to bring them back to life.
- A personal AI project turns old photographs, videos, and journal entries into stories sent daily to Julie and their husband.
Find Julie
Follow Julie’s essays, conversations, and notes on building things.
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