My evolution into public service technology with Singpass

Li Soon Tay
Lead Product Manager,
GovTech

My early days in the US and SG start-up scenes

With a Computer Science degree from UCLA, I started my career as a full-stack engineer in the LA and Chicago start-up scenes. After gaining some experience working for a couple of years, I returned back home to Singapore to take care of my aging parents and start building up my own nest egg.

It was natural for me to join the start-up scene in Singapore given my prior experience and I was one of the first two engineers to join Tech in Asia. Being passionate about building user-centric products and optimizing user experience, I constantly asked, “How do we continually evolve the product, so it continues to deliver? How can we acquire the right users in the ecosystem?”. In my time there, I worked on the three major businesses within the company, one platform each for news, jobs, and events. I enjoyed the vibrant and dynamic environment where I could drive decision-making and initiatives to grow our various products.

Transition from Full-Stack Engineering to Full-Stack Product Management

As the team grew, there was a need to better represent the engineers when discussing business requirements with leadership and to understand user needs through research and usability tests. This fuelled the natural transition for me into product management. As I learned and grew, I knew I wanted to do even more.

My Perception of GovTech

What attracted me to GovTech was its reputation as one of the most forward-thinking and progressive government agencies, akin to a start-up. I was really inclined towards the agile way of working and the sense of serving the public good, especially since my work would center around improving the everyday lives of Singapore citizens and residents. It also excited me to work on what was envisioned to be the new and improved version of Singapore’s digital identity, Singpass. This perception still holds true today.

My Singpass journey

It has been more than six years since I joined GovTech as a Product Manager and so much has evolved ever since. Being part of the team that worked on bringing Singpass to the next level, it is heartwarming to see how much it has grown and the impact it has brought to the community.

I spent my first year working on the Singpass app before it was launched and thereafter, the next few years building it up to where it is today. I am grateful to be in a position where I work on a product I believe in and can see how it benefits society.

What’s next for Singpass?

We primarily serve people living in Singapore and enjoy more than 4.2 million users on the Singpass app. With Singpass receiving numerous recognitions and interest overseas, we are now able to scale and grow it further. The Singpass-API Developer & Partners Portal allows businesses to submit their interest and use our products more quickly and easily. Technology and the needs of people keep evolving, and we must adapt to ensure the product is still relevant. While this makes my job challenging, this also keeps things exciting and gives me the opportunity to work on the meaningful problems of tomorrow.

#TechforPublicGood: A career that creates far-reaching impact

Once we can understand that we will realize that our impact is much more far-reaching. There is also something unique about my role here that I personally will not be able to experience elsewhere.

If you are keen to find out more about life inside GovTech, check it out at go.gov.sg/InsideGovTech.