Inside Amazon’s Doppler Office: Meeting the Team Behind Amazon Ads APIs

These are the guys who won the Amazon Innovation Challenge 2025.

That’s how Aditya Naredi introduced us to Tom Skinner at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. And honestly — that’s exactly how we’d love to be introduced everywhere. It was one of those proud moments where your work speaks before your name.

While everyone wrapped up Amazon Accelerate, I had the privilege of visiting the Doppler office — the heart of Amazon — to meet the team that builds and owns the Amazon Ads API infrastructure. For Hector, built on top of that very API, it felt like walking into the source of it all.

Swaminathan Balasubramanian who invited us, and his colleague Pushkar Bodas (joining virtually), set the tone with Amazon’s culture of customer obsession. They listened deeply, reframed our vision in their own words, took notes, and even recorded the meeting so the wider team could revisit it later.

Meeting Tom Skinner, Director of Amazon Reporting and Measurement APIs — and the same person who launched Amazon.in after 25 trips to India in three years — was inspiring. To sit across from someone who literally built the foundation of Amazon Ads in India was surreal.

Alex from the API team was another highlight. He remembered our earlier conversations in the New York office and, with genuine care, asked if there was anything more he could do to help us. That kind of concern and thoughtfulness stays with you — thank you, Alex.

And then there’s the people themselves. Aditya has been with Amazon for 26 years. Swami for 14+ years. Tom for 11+ years. Meeting people who have lived and breathed Amazon for over a decade — some for more than two decades — was unmatched. It’s rare to see that kind of tenure in tech, and it speaks volumes about the strength of Amazon's culture.

We shared Hector’s roadmap, especially how AI can reshape Amazon Ads. While the details stay under wraps for now, we left with alignment, energy, and belief that something transformative is around the corner.

Walking out of the Doppler office, it wasn’t just about a meeting. It was about recognition, responsibility, and being seen for what we’ve built. And yes — we’ll proudly carry that introduction with us everywhere.