Head of Developer Evangelism - DevRel

PayPal•San Jose, CA

About The Position

Establish a shared vision across the company for one or more products, or a platform product enabling development & scalability, with a deliberate and cohesive strategy. Leads product strategy development, and develops a clear, executable view of the product strategy with cross-functional stakeholders. Influences the architectural roadmap and balances innovative design and technical implementation, while balancing regulatory requirements, time-to-market, meeting customer needs and product profitability. Champions the customer experience and prioritizes customer needs in product requirements and decision making. Defines and uses metrics that inform the success of products including usability studies, research and market analysis. Standardizes workstreams to include analytics, customer discovery, market research and competitive analysis to drive data-driven decision-making. Responsible for product profitability, including budgetary decisions. Leads operational mechanisms that drive execution and accountability including Product Reviews, Operating Reviews, and Business Reviews. Interfaces with senior leadership as needed. Maximizes efficiency in a constantly evolving environment where the process is fluid and creative solutions are the standard. Serve as the primary executive voice for the developer ecosystem internally, translating developer needs, friction points, and insights into clear inputs for Product and Engineering roadmaps. Partner deeply with Engineering and Product leaders to influence platform design, API usability, documentation quality, and developer experience standards. Establish formal feedback loops between developers and internal teams, ensuring community input informs prioritization, roadmap decisions, and platform improvements. Drive technical evangelism through thought leadership, conference strategy, keynote participation, technical talks, blogs, demos, and hands-on enablement. Oversee developer-facing content strategy, including documentation alignment, tutorials, sample applications, and best-practice guidance in partnership with technical writing and platform teams. Collaborate with Product Marketing, Partnerships, and Sales to support platform launches, integrations, and ecosystem expansion. Define and track success metrics for DevRel programs, including developer adoption, engagement, sentiment, and ecosystem health. Build, scale, and lead a high-performing global DevRel team, including hiring, mentoring, performance management, and career development. Manage DevRel programs as large-scale initiatives, balancing priorities, timelines, budgets, and cross-functional dependencies. Communicate DevRel strategy, outcomes, and insights to senior leadership with clarity and measurable impact.

Requirements

10+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience
2 years of experience leading others
Proven experience leading Developer Relations, Developer Experience (DX), Platform Evangelism, or API-focused organizations at scale
Strong technical background with hands-on experience working with APIs, SDKs, developer platforms, or cloud-based services
Demonstrated ability to influence product and platform direction through developer feedback, data, and ecosystem insights
Experience building and scaling developer communities, advocacy programs, and technical evangelism initiatives
Ability to balance technical depth with strategic leadership and executive-level communication

Nice To Haves

Experience working in FinTech, payments, platform, or regulated technology environments
Strong cross-functional leadership skills, with a track record of partnering effectively with Engineering, Product, Marketing, and Platform teams
Comfort representing a company externally with developers, partners, and industry leaders
Experience defining metrics and measuring the business impact of developer-focused programs

Responsibilities

Establish a shared vision across the company for one or more products
Lead product strategy development
Influence the architectural roadmap
Champion the customer experience
Define and use metrics that inform the success of products
Standardize workstreams to include analytics, customer discovery, market research and competitive analysis to drive data-driven decision-making
Responsible for product profitability, including budgetary decisions
Lead operational mechanisms that drive execution and accountability including Product Reviews, Operating Reviews, and Business Reviews
Interface with senior leadership as needed
Maximize efficiency in a constantly evolving environment where the process is fluid and creative solutions are the standard
Serve as the primary executive voice for the developer ecosystem internally, translating developer needs, friction points, and insights into clear inputs for Product and Engineering roadmaps
Partner deeply with Engineering and Product leaders to influence platform design, API usability, documentation quality, and developer experience standards
Establish formal feedback loops between developers and internal teams, ensuring community input informs prioritization, roadmap decisions, and platform improvements
Drive technical evangelism through thought leadership, conference strategy, keynote participation, technical talks, blogs, demos, and hands-on enablement
Oversee developer-facing content strategy, including documentation alignment, tutorials, sample applications, and best-practice guidance in partnership with technical writing and platform teams
Collaborate with Product Marketing, Partnerships, and Sales to support platform launches, integrations, and ecosystem expansion
Define and track success metrics for DevRel programs, including developer adoption, engagement, sentiment, and ecosystem health
Build, scale, and lead a high-performing global DevRel team, including hiring, mentoring, performance management, and career development
Manage DevRel programs as large-scale initiatives, balancing priorities, timelines, budgets, and cross-functional dependencies
Communicate DevRel strategy, outcomes, and insights to senior leadership with clarity and measurable impact