Defining the Roles within Developer Relations

About Phil Leggetter

About Phil @leggetter

  • Software Engineer ➑ DevRel (2010)
  • Developer Evangelist @ Pusher
  • Developer Evangelist @ BladeRunnerJS
  • Head of DevRel @ Pusher
  • Snr. Director Platform & Developer Experience @ Nexmo/Vonage
  • Developer Experience & Relations @ tru.ID

Why Role Definitions Matter

  • Clarity for the individual in the role
  • Guidance for those interacting with someone in a role
  • Identify an entry point into DevRel for others
  • DevRel has matured. There is now specialization.
  • Roles within a team represent the implementation of a strategy

A Note on Strategy

πŸ“ A Note on Strategy

  • Don’t Start with the Roles

    Start with the Strategy

  • We’re looking for a β€œDeveloper Relations… Person” β€” Any company that doesn’t yet have a strategy

What are the Roles within Developer Relations?

Role "Popularity": Google Search

| Role | Hits on Google | | :β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”-| :β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”- | | Developer Relations | 612,000 | | Developer Advocate | 736,000 | | [Developer] Community Manager | 410,000 | | Developer Educator | 241,000 | | Developer Evangelist | 168,000 | | Developer Relations Engineer | 26,000 | | Developer Experience Engineer | 18,900 |

Role "Popularity": DevRel Weekly

| Role | DevRel Weekly | :β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”-| :β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”- | Developer Relations | 100
| Developer Advocate | 159
| [Developer] Community Manager | 19
| Developer Educator | 3
| Developer Evangelist | 31
| Developer Relations Engineer | 21
| Developer Experience Engineer | 3

Role "Popularity": LinkedIn

| Role | LinkedIn Job Titles | | :β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”-|β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”-| | Developer Relations | 2,600 | Developer Advocate | 1,600 | [Developer] Community Manager | 1,000 | Developer Educator | 1,700 | Developer Evangelist | 576 | Developer Relations Engineer | 234 | Developer Experience Engineer | 363

Role "Popularity": LinkedIn

| Role | LinkedIn Job Titles | | :β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”-|β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”-| | Developer Relations | 2,600 | Developer Advocate | 1,600 | [Developer] Community Manager | 1,000 | Developer Educator | 1,700 | Developer Evangelist | 576 | Developer Relations Engineer | 234 | Developer Experience Engineer | 363

What are the Roles within Developer Relations?

  • Developer Advocate
  • [Developer] Community Manager
  • Developer Educator
  • Developer Evangelist
  • Developer Relations Engineer
  • Developer Experience Engineer

Any Obvious Role Omissions?

  • Partner Engineer?, Technical Writer?, Manager, Director, VP, CDRO, …
  • And I’ll update the slide deck 😊

Help Me Define the Roles

Thanks, Flyless!