Finding and Hiring Developer Relations Professionals

Developer Relations is experiencing unprecedented growth. Half of all DevRel programs were established less than two years ago, with 25% of companies running multiple programs simultaneously. Surprisingly, 33.5% of these companies aren't even traditional "technology" companies.

Any business with connections to third-party developers is now considering DevRel programs. However, these roles require unique skill sets that are difficult to develop quickly, creating a competitive market for qualified talent.

Are You Ready to Hire a DevRel?

Before starting your search, determine if you genuinely need a DevRel and how they'll fit into your organization.

Developer relations encompasses numerous activities rarely performed by a single person. Your DevRel might function as an evangelist, community manager, technical content creator, or support liaison.

Expecting your first hire to be an "all-purpose" DevRel or to define their own role sets them up for failure. As Josh Dzielak, Co-Founder and CTO at Orbit, notes: "Your first DevRel should scale what's already working, not completely start from scratch… DevRels put their reputation on the line for the companies they represent, and companies with no history of participation represent unknowns and risk."

Founders or executives should spend time doing DevRel work themselves before hiring, giving you insight into what works and saving time and money later.

Defining Scope and Success Metrics

A specific job description increases your chances of finding the right person. You'll also need appropriate metrics to measure success.

As Shawn Wang, Head of Developer Experience at Airbyte, points out: "I've been asked to measure all these in my work: GitHub stars on my demos (yuck), traffic attributed to my Google Analytics UTM tag (yuck yuck), number of badges I could scan at a conference (yuck yuck yuck). All well intentioned but ultimately not meaningful, because they value quantity over quality, breadth over depth, free-and-superficial over paid-and-indicating-serious-interest."

A systematic approach includes:

1. Listing desired DevRel activities
2. Setting logical targets
3. Determining how many people you need

DevRel tasks typically fall into three categories:

1. Content

Content is fundamental to developer relations. 

Adam Duvander, Founder at EveryDeveloper, explains: "Imagine a room full of developers, ready to hear your conference talk. How many are in the audience—50? 100? 500? As awesome as web development is, there's a natural cap to who can hear your message in person. A blog post can garner the same attention month after month. If you are strategic about what you publish, your content will attract even more developers."

Developer content is highly technical, bordering on documentation. This includes use cases, integration tutorials, implementation guides, FAQs, and support materials.

Companies often employ multiple full-time DevRels solely for content creation, or they set content strategy internally and outsource writing to specialized agencies.

Content Metrics:

• Pageviews
• SERP ranking/domain authority
• Newsletter signups
• Product demo/trial signups

2. Community

Without a way to reach developers, the rest of your DevRel program has limited impact.

Community engagement occurs in various online forums like StackOverflow, Reddit, Hacker News, YouTube comments, and Slack groups where developers shape opinions and behaviors. DevRels must be present to influence discussions and gather feedback.

Since online communities are vast and discussions aren't instantaneous, companies may need full-time technical community managers for these platforms.

In-person events and conferences facilitate rapid, robust conversations. Companies typically deploy Developer Evangelists at these events to speak, persuade, and listen.

The key is to let event excitement continue in online forums, maintaining discussion about your product and building anticipation for future events. This requires deep coordination within your DevRel team.

Community Metrics:

• Members in Slack/Discord
• Number of weekly new topics in StackOverflow/GitHub Discussions
• Attendees at events and talks
• User contributions (content/community responses)

3. Code

Code-focused DevRels bring value to both the community and company. Before product launches, they might beta test products with users or create interesting demos. They're often responsible for non-core integrations and developer support.

At SendGrid, Developer Evangelists maintain official API wrapper libraries and open source documentation.

DevRels are well-positioned to channel user feedback to product teams.

Code Metrics:

• Open source code contributions
• Number of user issues funneled through DevRel
• Monthly users of product/integrations
• Launch day users and mentions

Finding DevRel Professionals

Senior developers rarely browse typical job boards, even if open to career changes. You must reach them where they spend time.

1. Promote from Within

Companies often underestimate how important product and organizational familiarity are to DevRel success.

Ideal candidates may already be among your engineers, technical leads, solution architects, or sales consultants with technical backgrounds and customer experience.

Internal promotion works well for first DevRel hires because: there's less learning required, they can return to engineering if needed, and they establish a foundation for future hires.

2. Consider Your Customer Champions

While you shouldn't routinely poach customer engineers, developers who have advocated for your product at their companies make excellent candidates who can relate to other users.

This transition happens naturally - enthusiastic champions often see more potential in your product than in their current roles.

3. Look for 'Non-DevRel' DevRels

Many engineers perform DevRel activities like creating content and speaking at conferences without formal DevRel titles. Watch for these individuals in blogs, videos, and conferences, and ask if they'd like to make it their job.

Relevant HN bloggers, Twitter influencers, YouTubers, and Slack contributors can be strong candidates.

4. Use Specialized Job Boards

LinkedIn and similar platforms aren't ideal for finding DevRels. Instead, use specialized job boards for Developer Advocates, Technical Writers, Community Managers, or Documentation Engineers.

5. Talk to Your Content Partners

A creative approach is consulting your business partners, like technical content agencies. Specialized HR companies work with hundreds of software engineers creating developer-focused content and may facilitate introductions.

Hiring DevRel Professionals

Getting your first few DevRel hires right is crucial as they set the tone for the entire team. They're also expensive - the median base salary for a DevRel ($148,105) exceeds that of a senior developer in the U.S.

Start by defining necessary values. Top DevRels share these qualities: empathy, passion for sharing knowledge, and willingness to learn new technical topics.

Use a standardized process to test candidates objectively and maintain hiring quality.

A Proven Hiring Process

Here's a process used to recruit developers:

1. Transparent Job Description

Detail your DevRel expectations in the job description. Publish salaries for all roles so candidates can immediately determine if the position fits their needs.

2. Preliminary Screenings

Screen applicants by resume, then have promising candidates complete a 15-30 minute remote mini-assignment. This tests skills from the job description, such as communication abilities and empathy through scenario-based questions.

3. Technical + Cultural Interviews

Technical knowledge is essential for DevRels to competently address user questions. Evaluate their experience with API standards and best practices, documentation, SDKs, programming skills, and other product-specific requirements. Also assess their soft skills and situational responses.

4. Paid Trial

Ask top candidates to complete a paid trial simulating the job's daily responsibilities. This gives both parties first-hand experience working together. For example, PostHog offers a "SuperDay," a paid full day of work at the company.

After reference checks, you'll have your first DevRels. Repeat this process for future hires, refining it each time with the data you collect.