VP, Developer Relations

The VP of Developer Relations will lead DigitalOcean's Developer Relations team, reporting to the Chief Ecosystem and Growth Officer (CEGO). For over a decade, DigitalOcean has been the platform where millions of developers have launched their first projects, built their first startups, and learned to scale applications. Today, many of those developers are building increasingly sophisticated businesses on our platform, and we're looking for a hands-on leader to help write our next chapter. This role will drive the evolution of our developer community as we support their journey from side projects to production workloads, bridging the worlds of traditional cloud infrastructure and AI/ML. You'll help create opportunities for both experienced teams running business-critical applications and the next wave of builders who are just discovering the power of cloud computing.

Team

The role leads Developer Relations, which includes four teams: Developer Advocacy, Developer Community, Events, and Social Media. Operating within the broader CEGO organization, this team collaborates closely with Product Engineering, Marketing, Content, Sales, and Technical Partnerships to create a cohesive developer experience. The team serves as the primary bridge between DigitalOcean's developer community and product teams, ensuring developer feedback directly influences product direction and strategy.

Key Strengths Required

• Proven track record of personally driving strategic developer relations initiatives with measurable outcomes
• Strategic vision for developer relations in the age of AI, with ability to anticipate and adapt to emerging trends
• Experience building and scaling authentic developer communities across both traditional cloud and AI/ML domains
• Strong business acumen with ability to translate developer relations activities into business impact
• Experience presenting to and collaborating with board members and executive leadership
• Hands-on leader who can both set strategy and dive deep to unblock teams when needed
• Track record of building data-driven feedback loops between developer community and product teams
• Strong understanding of cloud computing, AI/ML, and developer tools landscape
• Natural ability to build genuine relationships with technical and business stakeholders at all levels
• Strong technical background with proven credibility in developer communities

Goals and Objectives

• Develop and execute a comprehensive developer relations strategy
• Create and implement a strategy to win developer mindshare in the AI/ML space
• Build strong presence in key developer communities, both online (YouTube, Discord) and offline (events, hackathons)
• Drive significant growth in social media engagement and technical content reach across platforms
• Establish DigitalOcean as a leading technical voice in developer conversations across social platforms
• Establish DigitalOcean as the trusted educational resource for developers learning to build and deploy production applications
• Create robust feedback loops between the developer community and product teams
• Drive developer adoption through strategic advocacy, education, and community engagement
• Establish clear metrics and KPIs for measuring developer relations impact
• Lead the evolution of developer relations in response to AI-driven changes in software development

Why You’ll Like Working for DigitalOcean

• We innovate with purpose. You’ll be a part of a cutting-edge technology company with an upward trajectory, who are proud to simplify cloud and AI so builders can spend more time creating software that changes the world. As a member of the team, you will be a Shark who thinks big, bold, and scrappy, like an owner with a bias for action and a powerful sense of responsibility for customers, products, employees, and decisions. 
• We prioritize career development. At DO, you’ll do the best work of your career. You will work with some of the smartest and most interesting people in the industry. We are a high-performance organization that will always challenge you to think big. Our organizational development team will provide you with resources to ensure you keep growing. We provide employees with reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education. All employees have access to LinkedIn Learning's 10,000+ courses to support their continued growth and development.
• We care about your well-being. Regardless of your location, we will provide you with a competitive array of benefits to support you from our Employee Assistance Program to Local Employee Meetups to flexible time off policy, to name a few. While the