Humans of Rally: Sydney Lawson, Senior PMM

Humans of Rally is a behind-the-scenes look at the people building the future of user research and turning ideas into tools that make research faster, more collaborative, and more human.

Sydney Lawson leads product marketing at Rally, partnering with teams across the company to launch new features, support our customers, and bring the voice of our users into everything we build.

What’s your background, and what led you to marketing at Rally?

Before Rally, I was at a legal tech company, still in product marketing, and before that I was at a healthcare software company, which I always tell people are two of the most boring industries you could be in, at least for me. 

User Research was definitely a breath of fresh air. It’s such a diverse, inclusive, fun, genuine industry to be in, and I think the people I’ve met in the User Research industry have just made it such a fun part of my role.

I have noticed some similarities across all the industries I’ve worked in though. The nurse<>doctor relationship is very similar to the paralegal<>lawyer relationship in the sense that the nurse, or paralegal, does all the work, and the doctor or lawyer, gets all the credit. I notice that in the UX industry as well – UXRs and Research Ops often do a lot of the heavy lifting of evaluating ideas, getting user feedback, and catching red flags before they ship. Success of these enterprise companies often has a lot to do with the research that gets done behind the scenes. That is what excited me about Rally – to help highlight the voices and impact of UXR! 

I fell into product marketing, which I feel is very common for product marketers. I have a design background, but once I found product marketing, I fell in love with it. 

What does a typical day look like for you as a PMM at Rally?

On a typical day, I spend time supporting our sales team with any accounts they’re working on and anything they need to be more successful, whether that’s product enablement, competitive intelligence, or help with positioning and messaging for new product releases.

I also work closely with our product team for new launches. I manage our changelog and monthly product newsletter, and I handle customer communications related to anything new within the product, or letting customers know if a feature request they made is now live.

I’m also working on some exciting partnerships for the end of this year and our biggest product announcement to-date coming in 2026. 👀

How does your role connect with teams across Rally, and what makes that collaboration work so well here?

One of my favorite things about product marketing is how collaborative it is. I get to work with so many different teams who are all working toward the same goal, but each with different projects and focus areas. I get a passenger seat view of everything that is happening across the company, and I really enjoy that.

I work closely with sales, product, customer success, and engineering. I picture product marketing as a bridge between “the market” and “the product” (Rally). I talk to customers and leaders in the industry to understand what they are working on or struggling with, then bring that back to the product team. I listen in on product standups, bug bashes, project planning, and roadmapping calls, and communicate that back to “the market” (otherwise known as our sales and CS teams, customers, launches, etc). 

Something that feels unique at Rally is how easy it is to be involved in cross-functional projects. At other companies there were times when a product release happened and product marketing knew nothing about it. That has never happened here. Product marketing is truly embedded in the work. It makes cross-team collaboration not only possible but natural, and I really love that about Rally.

What has your experience been like shaping Rally’s brand and marketing as the company has grown?

Rally is known for being a company based in genuine value. We are not trying to be salesy. Everything we put out is real, with a touch of humor, and everything we release is valuable. From my first day at Rally, it has been clear that everyone cares about our users, what they think, and what they need. 

We are very in tune with our customers; we listen to feedback, and make adjustments based on it. We have leaned on our customers because they are the experts for product launches and for telling their stories through content, webinars, and our AMA series. Our mantra is that your own users are the key to the success of your business. We believe that, and we embody it.

I love startups because you have a big impact, especially early on. Everything you do affects the company as it grows. That can be intimidating, but it is mostly exciting. There is a culture at Rally where we are allowed to experiment, make mistakes, and learn from them. You can try something new without worrying that it will get you in trouble. 

Some of our best work has come from experimenting. Our Panel Tear Up series was a big experiment. Same with other content, like our Observer Room launch video that used pets from team members. We are real humans who want to have fun and get people engaged and excited about partnering with us.

How has your role evolved as Rally has grown?

Product marketing is very collaborative, and collaboration is one of our values at Rally. Everyone here wants to work with others, get feedback, and share ideas. That is unique to Rally.

In terms of career development, it is helpful to get exposure to different areas, especially early in your career when you may not know if what you are doing is what you want long-term. Rally is a positive environment to explore that. You can find projects you enjoy more and get involved. Rally is great for exploration and for doing that in an environment where it is encouraged and your strengths are appreciated across the business, not just in your department.

There is also a unique opportunity at Rally where we are shaping our own roles and careers as the company grows. We have great managers who listen to where you want your career to go and give you opportunities to work on projects outside your day job to get exposure to other parts of the business. That way, when you are ready to take the next step in your career, you have experience you can point to. That has been really exciting for me.

How would you describe the vibe at Rally?

One word comes to mind: together. All the projects we do, we do them together. No one’s working in silos. When we launch that feature, we get feedback from customers. We’re building Rally together with them too. We celebrate wins together and learn together. When you’re working with a team that goes through all the highs and lows together, the lows don’t feel that low. You have people you can trust and lean on. That makes everything more fun and well thought out, with perspectives from different areas of the business.

What kinds of people thrive at Rally?

Definitely self-starters, people who notice a problem and solve it without needing to be told what to do. That’s true across the business, but especially in marketing. People who are excited by challenges they may not know much about, who go do the research, talk to people, and come back with a solution.

That’s the most important thing, because everything else can be learned and coached. We look for people who make decisions confidently, even when things seem vague or ambiguous.

Why is now an exciting time to join the team?

Now is a really great time to join Rally because we’re sitting at the start of a huge opportunity we’re well positioned to tackle, and it’s already happening. We’re working with some of the world’s biggest companies like Figma, Google, and Adobe.

We’re well positioned to keep that momentum going. I’ve been here just over two years, but we’re really only just getting started. Our product-market fit is becoming clear and defined.

We have a strong culture, but new people joining also get to help shape it and define what working at Rally looks like. It’s an amazing opportunity to work with an incredible team and incredible customers.

💜 Interested in joining a team that builds the systems powering the future of User Research? Check out our open roles and come say hi.