What Developer Advocates Actually Do
A Day in the Life
Developer Advocacy spans multiple domains, requiring candidates who can context-switch between technical work and community engagement.
Content Creation (30-40%)
- Technical writing - Blog posts, tutorials, documentation, getting-started guides
- Video content - YouTube tutorials, live coding streams, product demos
- Code samples - GitHub repositories, example applications, SDKs
- Social media - Twitter/X threads, LinkedIn posts, community discussions
- Podcasts - Guest appearances, hosting shows, audio content
Community Engagement (25-35%)
- Conference speaking - Keynotes, technical talks, workshops, panels
- Meetup participation - Organizing and speaking at local events
- Online communities - Discord, Slack, forums, Reddit, Stack Overflow
- Developer support - Helping developers succeed with your products
- Relationship building - Nurturing connections with developers, maintainers, influencers
Internal Advocacy (20-25%)
- Developer feedback - Bringing community insights to product teams
- Product influence - Advocating for developer experience improvements
- Documentation review - Ensuring docs serve real developer needs
- Beta programs - Running early access programs with developer communities
- Cross-functional collaboration - Working with product, engineering, marketing
Technical Contribution (10-20%)
- SDK development - Building and maintaining developer tools
- Sample applications - Creating reference implementations
- Open source - Contributing to ecosystem projects
- Dogfooding - Using your own products to understand developer pain
- Technical accuracy - Reviewing content for correctness
Developer Advocate vs Developer Marketing
This distinction is crucial for hiring. DevRel and marketing overlap but serve different purposes.
| Aspect | Developer Advocate | Developer Marketing |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Goal | Help developers succeed | Generate leads/awareness |
| Approach | Provide value first, brand second | Promote products directly |
| Credibility | Requires technical depth | Can be non-technical |
| Metrics | Community health, content quality | MQLs, campaign performance |
| Audience Trust | Trusted as peer/expert | Perceived as vendor |
| Content Style | Educational, hands-on | Promotional, feature-focused |
| Community Role | Member and contributor | Observer and broadcaster |
When to hire DevRel vs Marketing:
- Developer Advocate: You need authentic community relationships, technical content, and developers who trust your brand
- Developer Marketing: You need campaign execution, lead generation, and market positioning
Many companies confuse these roles. Hiring a marketer and calling them "Developer Advocate" damages trust with developers—they'll see through it immediately. True DevRel requires technical credibility.
Developer Advocate Archetypes
Content Creator
- Strong writer, video producer, or podcaster
- Excels at creating engaging educational content
- May have existing audience from blog, YouTube, or social media
- Risk: May prefer content creation over community interaction
Conference Speaker
- Charismatic presenter, comfortable on any stage
- Can explain complex topics to diverse audiences
- Often well-connected in conference circuits
- Risk: May resist "unglamorous" work like documentation or support
Community Builder
- Excels at building and nurturing developer communities
- Strong relationship skills, remembers faces and names
- Often comes from community management background
- Risk: May lack deep technical credibility
Technical DevRel
- Strong engineering background, still codes regularly
- Can build SDKs, tools, and substantial code samples
- Developers respect their technical opinions
- Risk: May prefer building to communicating
Strategic DevRel
- Thinks holistically about developer experience
- Can design programs, measure outcomes, influence product
- Often has product management or leadership experience
- Risk: May be too far removed from hands-on work
Be explicit about which archetype you need. A conference speaker won't thrive in a role that's 80% content writing. A content creator may struggle if you need someone at events every week.
Career Progression
Curiosity & fundamentals
Independence & ownership
Architecture & leadership
Strategy & org impact
Where to Find Developer Advocates
Engineers Who Create Content
Backend, frontend, or DevOps engineers who write blogs, create tutorials, or speak at meetups. They've already demonstrated the combination you need—technical skills plus communication drive.
Why they work: Proven technical foundation, self-motivated creators
Watch out for: May need coaching on strategic thinking and program design
Technical Writers Leveling Up
Experienced technical writers who want more community interaction and public-facing work. They understand developers but want broader scope.
Why they work: Strong content skills, understand developer documentation
Watch out for: May lack depth in specific technologies
Community Managers Going Technical
Community managers from developer-focused communities who've developed technical skills through immersion.
Why they work: Strong relationship skills, understand community dynamics
Watch out for: Technical credibility may be questioned by developers
Open Source Contributors
Active open source maintainers or prolific contributors who engage well with their communities.
Why they work: Built-in credibility, understand developer collaboration
Watch out for: May have strong opinions about how DevRel "should" work
Developer Educators
Bootcamp instructors, course creators, or technical trainers who want industry roles.
Why they work: Teaching experience, curriculum design skills
Watch out for: May lack enterprise or production experience
Common Hiring Mistakes
1. Hiring Marketers and Calling Them DevRel
Developers spot non-technical advocates immediately. If your "DevRel" can't answer technical questions, debug code, or have genuine engineering conversations, they'll lose credibility fast. DevRel requires engineers, not marketers with technical talking points.
2. Expecting Pure Content Output
DevRel isn't a content factory. Great advocates need time for community engagement, conference travel, and internal advocacy. Measuring DevRel purely on blog posts or videos per month misses the relationship-building that creates long-term value.
3. Ignoring Existing Presence
The best DevRel candidates have already demonstrated their skills publicly—blogs, open source, conference talks, social media following. If they haven't created anything yet, they're unproven. Look for a portfolio, not just potential.
4. Undervaluing Community Building
Creating content is visible; building relationships is not. Great DevRel includes countless coffee chats, DM conversations, and community interactions that don't show up in metrics. Don't optimize for visible output over relationship depth.
5. No Path to Product Influence
Developer Advocates who can't influence product decisions burn out. They hear developer pain constantly but can't drive change. Ensure DevRel has real channels to product teams—or lose your best advocates.
Red Flags in DevRel Candidates
- No existing content - If they've never written a blog post or given a talk, they're unproven
- Can't explain technical concepts - DevRel requires making complex topics accessible
- Only talks about themselves - Great DevRel centers the developer, not their personal brand
- No community involvement - Absence from developer communities signals misaligned motivations
- Dismissive of metrics - Good DevRel balances authenticity with business impact
- Pure self-promotion - Developers distinguish genuine helpers from self-promoters
- No curiosity about your product - They should have researched your developer experience
- Can't name developers they've helped - Great advocates remember the humans they've impacted
Interview Focus Areas
Technical Credibility
- Can they explain a technical concept clearly?
- Have they built anything developers would use?
- Do they understand your product's technical positioning?
- Can they identify technical problems with your current developer experience?
Content & Communication
- Do they have a portfolio of existing content?
- Can they explain complex topics to different audiences?
- How do they approach creating educational content?
- What's their content creation process?
Community Engagement
- Are they active in developer communities?
- How do they build relationships with developers?
- Can they give examples of developers they've helped?
- How do they handle critical feedback from communities?
Strategic Thinking
- How would they measure DevRel success?
- How do they prioritize across content, community, and internal advocacy?
- How do they balance company goals with community authenticity?
- What DevRel programs have they designed or run?
Developer Expectations
| Aspect | ✓ What They Expect | ✗ What Breaks Trust |
|---|---|---|
| Creative Freedom | →Autonomy to choose content topics, experiment with formats, and engage authentically with communities | ⚠Every piece of content requires marketing approval, personal social media is restricted, or forced brand messaging |
| Product Influence | →Real channel to product teams and evidence that DevRel feedback drives changes | ⚠DevRel is isolated from product decisions; feedback goes into a void |
| Sustainable Travel | →Reasonable conference schedule with clear expectations and recovery time | ⚠Expected at every event, constant travel with no work-life balance consideration |
| Technical Credibility Support | →Time to build real projects, contribute code, and maintain technical skills | ⚠Pure content treadmill with no time for hands-on technical work |
| Community Authenticity | →Freedom to acknowledge product limitations and engage honestly with criticism | ⚠Required to spin everything positive; can't admit when competitors are better |