Amazon created the initial technical scaffolding for Alexa quickly, jumping out to an early lead in the market for smart speakers and voice assistants in the home. But nearly a decade later, Alexa is still under construction. 

That's the perspective from Tigger (Charlie) Kindel, a Seattle tech industry veteran who worked at Amazon from 2013 to 2018, leading Alexa product management before building the Alexa smart-home technology team. 

We contacted him this week to get his perspective as Amazon resets its strategy for Alexa and Echo. The company is making widespread layoffs on its Devices & Services team amid reports that the division is losing as much as $10 billion a year.

Plus: New comments about the future of Alexa from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.