It's a Chimed Life®: Meet Aurora Zenith, Senior Program Manager

It's a Chimed Life^®: Meet Aurora Zenith, Sr. Program Manager

From music to member experience, how creativity and authenticity guide Aurora’s path

In honor of Pride month, we sat down with Aurora Zenith (she/her) to learn more about her career in member experience and get some valuable advice on how to be your best self at work. 

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Growing up in Silicon Valley with a computer scientist dad, Aurora Zenith (she/her) was surrounded by tech from a young age. “I always had a toe in the water,” she says. “I’d mess around with web design here and there, but I never imagined it would become my full-time career.”

For the first decade of her professional life, Aurora was a full-time musician and teacher. She also ran a business booking musicians for weddings and events. “I loved it, but over time I wanted to pivot into something different,” she explains. “I was looking for work that felt both impactful and sustainable—and tech felt like the right space to explore.”

In 2017, she made the leap into tech, and her creative background, communication skills, and entrepreneurial experience turned out to be a strong, transferable foundation. “The hardest part was learning the jargon,” she says jokingly. “But everything else—teaching, managing a business—taught me how to break down complex ideas, communicate clearly, and keep moving forward.”

Her first roles in tech were in customer support at Redbubble and Lyft: “I realized I could bring both empathy and structure to the work—solving real problems for real people,” she says.

Though music and art are now hobbies, Aurora’s love for them hasn’t faded. “It’s great to have work that lets me stay connected to those passions, while focusing on something larger than myself in my day-to-day.”

Finding alignment at Chime

Aurora first heard about Chime from friends who were members. She liked the product experience—but it was the people and values that convinced her to join. “I had two former coworkers from Lyft who were at Chime and raved about the culture. Then I met with leaders here—many of whom were women—and that really stood out.”

She was also drawn to how seriously Chime takes the member experience. “At other companies, there’s a lot of talk about ‘member obsession,” but it doesn’t always show up in the work or culture,” she says. “In my interviews at Chime, I immediately felt that it did—and still does to this day. The team here puts in the time to listen to members, analyze the data, and make things better for them.”

Solving problems and staying close to members

As a senior program manager on the Operations & Member Experience (OMX) team, Aurora focuses on all things related to Chime’s Visa® Debit Card and the secured Credit Builder Visa Credit Card—from how members receive and use them to how those experiences show up in the app. She also leads work on 1099 forms and, most recently, Chime Deals.¹

Her role spans three pillars: readiness for launches, surfacing member insights to product, and driving operational improvements. “I connect the dots,” she explains. “Whether it’s creating trainings for a new feature launch or flagging friction points in our processes, I make sure we’re solving the right problems in the right way.”

She’s also a Chime member herself, and that firsthand experience makes a difference in her perspective. “A large percentage of my paycheck is deposited in my Chime account, and I use my Chime card for most of my spending,” she says. “I get to try out our new features and notice when something’s working or feels clunky. Being a Chime member keeps me grounded in the work I do for our members.”

Small wins, big impact

One of Aurora's proudest achievements is the work she's done in partnership with Product teams to improve content and training for Support Agents, leading to meaningful improvements in both the Agent and Member experience.

She credits this success to creative thinking and a bird’s-eye view—skills she honed as a teacher. “A lot of it was identifying low-hanging fruit and fixing those issues fast,” she says. For example, she helped improve several standard operating procedures (SOPs) and restructured support workflows.

She’s also proud of recent experiments like reintroducing macros into live chat. “It’s exciting to be in a place where I can try new things and see real results,” she says.

Finding belonging and support at work

Chime’s culture—and especially Aurora’s immediate team—has been a huge part of her journey and success at Chime. “My manager is the best I’ve ever had,” she says. “And the OMX team is incredibly talented, kind, and thoughtful. Everyone’s working hard, but also supporting each other as humans.”

She has also found a strong sense of belonging in OutChime, Chime’s LGBTQIA+ employee resource group. “Being a member of Outchime has been such an important part of feeling safe, connected, and included here—especially as a remote employee,” she says.

Career advice: be the boldest version of yourself

Aurora’s advice for others is to never shrink yourself to fit in and lean into who you really are.

“Everyone goes through phases where they wonder if they need to tone down who they are to be successful, but I’ve found the opposite to be true,” she says. “The most fulfilling opportunities come when you show up as your biggest, boldest self.”

It’s advice that’s served her well—from music and teaching to tech and beyond. “Remember, your uniqueness isn’t something to hide—it’s your biggest strength,” she says.