How do I hire a developer advocate? (opens in new tab)

Hey, I'm hiring dev advocates who aren't just "washed up engineers." It looks like you started in a new role recently so maybe you didn't mean "let me know" literally, but here's me letting you know. Hit me up: greg@pinecone.io

I think a really important factor is where in the reporting structure DevRel sits. I was a Dev Advocate at Google, and because we were in the engineering ladder there was not much of a comp difference between my role and a SWE. We had folks from junior all the way to senior staff / principal (basically Director level IC). If anything, some folks got paid more because they had really solid engineering skills along with public speaking and marketing skills.

Other places put DevRel in marketing (not always a bad thing, but a definite red flag) and/or treat them like glorified blog post writers and talking heads. You won't get high quality folks if this is the case.

We're hiring a devrel and our jobs show pay ranges: https://fusionauth.io/jobs/senior-developer-advocate

I don't think they pay junior engineer level, but if they are, please let me know.

I work as a full time consultant helping companies build their developer experiences and put together solid developer-focused strategies while also helping them transform their infrastructure to support a platform-focused development approach.

It's extremely interesting work, and pays pretty well. But it's a very interdisciplinary role. I consult and engage in infrastructure architecture, API design, product strategy, product marketing, corporate strategy, sales, engineering... it depends on the project, the goals of the company, and their willingness to take this seriously.

I do a LOT of writing, very little of it ever gets published.

I transitioned more than a decade ago from engineering to a more business focused role, which then transformed into an advocate role. Ironically, I don't think full time devs make the best advocates - I find sales engineers and solutions architects are better suited for the role. They already have the experience in working directly with customers and reacting to their needs. They write demos and documentation for that audience already. And they have the technical chops to be able to cover a wide range of topics where most software devs are focused on their areas of interest. All they really need to do is work on their marketing skills (largely so they can better work with their marketing teams) and polish their communications to make them a bit more accessible beyond just the developer audience (dev advocates work with developers, yes, but also are critical to getting business buy-in).

If you want to become an advocate, but don't have the kind of background I'm talking about, I suggest you just start advocating for the things you love now on your personal sties. Research and post blog posts with your opinions about topics happening in the areas you;re interested in. Use your social media to share that information and start building a name for yourself. Build that portfolio, then use ti land a dev adv position somewhere - or hang out the shingle and go it on your own Guy Kawasaki style.