Head of Events San Francisco, CA

PlanetScale, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

PlanetScale, Inc. is seeking a Head of Events to own the strategy and hands-on execution of high-impact experiences connecting developers, engineers, customers, and the broader tech community with PlanetScale.

You will lead end-to-end events strategy across owned experiences, conferences, sponsored events, executive dinners, meetups, and hybrid formats, setting a bold creative bar and defining measurable outcomes.

Qualifications

• 3+ years leading events, experiential marketing, or developer/tech community programs.
• Experience engaging with developer, engineering, or technical audiences.
• Proven ability to manage event budgets and measure ROI.
• Experience delivering a mix of owned events, conferences, and field activations.
• Excellent project, vendor, and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end events strategy and portfolio including developer experiences, conferences, sponsored events, dinners, meetups, and hybrid/digital formats.
• Set design, storytelling, branding, and logistics to reflect PlanetScale's brand.
• Define and track metrics for developer acquisition, product adoption, community growth, pipeline, and brand.
• Build and manage a global events calendar and budget with ROI frameworks.
• Lead vendors, agencies, venues, AV, and creative partners.
• Operate as a hands-on contributor while shaping future growth of the function.
• Innovate formats beyond traditional booths (hackathons, build-alongs, roundtables, hybrid experiences).
• Collaborate with Sales, DevRel, Marketing, Brand, and leadership across functions.

Skills

Events experience

Developer relations

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Travel willingness

Job description

PlanetScale is growing rapidly and reinventing the database space. Our database platform offers developers the fastest and most reliable Postgres and Vitess/MySQL databases, enabling businesses to efficiently handle data and workloads of all sizes.

PlanetScale is backed with over $100M in venture financing from top-tier VCs including a16z, Kleiner Perkins, SignalFire, and Insight Venture Partners. And we serve some of the most innovative companies in the world such as Block, Anysphere (Cursor), MyFitnessPal, Etsy, Kick, and thousands more. Our customers entrust us with what is often their most precious digital asset, their data, so the stakes couldn't be higher.

We're looking for a Head of Events to own the strategy and hands-on execution of high-impact experiences that connect developers, engineering leaders, customers, and the broader tech community with PlanetScale.

What's the job to be done?

• Own the end-to-end events strategy and portfolio for PlanetScale, spanning owned developer experiences, conference presence, sponsored/partnered events, executive dinners, pop-up activations, meetups, field programs, and hybrid/digital formats.
• Set the creative and experiential bar, bringing a strong point of view on design, storytelling, branding, and details so every touchpoint (booth, merch, venue, food, etc) reflects PlanetScale's brand and stands out.
• Drive measurable outcomes in developer acquisition, product adoption, community growth, pipeline, and brand love. Define the metrics that matter and hold the program accountable to them.
• Build and manage a global events calendar. Evaluate, prioritize, and execute a disciplined portfolio of events.
• Own and manage the events budget with clear ROI frameworks, financial discipline, and the ability to reallocate based on performance data.
• Manage vendors, agencies, venues, AV, and creative partners; hold external partners to the same quality standard expected internally.
• Operate as a highly hands-on individual contributor while setting strategy. This is a lean role where you'll both define the vision and drive the majority of the execution yourself, while building the foundation to grow the function over time.
• Innovate on format: bring fresh thinking beyond traditional conference booths (hackathons, build-alongs, intimate technical roundtables, hybrid experiences, unique activations, executive events).
• You have experience running or heavily contributing to events for developer or highly technical audiences, whether from an events, experiential marketing, field marketing, or Developer Relations background. You know what resonates with engineers and builders versus what feels like generic marketing.
• You have strong taste and creative vision. You can point to events you're proud of and articulate why specific design, content, experience, and logistical choices mattered.
• You are both strategic and highly operational. You're comfortable setting direction and then rolling up your sleeves to make it happen.
• You thrive in cross-functional, matrixed environments and can influence without pure authority across Sales, DevRel, Marketing, Brand, and leadership.
• You are comfortable with ambiguity, speed, and high ownership. PlanetScale moves fast. You bias toward action while protecting quality.
• You enjoy wearing multiple hats and are energized by a high-IC role rather than pure people management.

What you will need

• 3+ years of experience in events, experiential marketing, field marketing, Developer Relations, or developer community roles, with meaningful ownership of strategy and execution.
• Experience working with developer, engineering, or technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage event budgets and deliver measurable results.
• Experience producing or significantly contributing to a mix of owned events, conference presence, executive/customer dinners, meetups, and field activations.
• Excellent project management, vendor management, and stakeholder management skills.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently (often 30%+ depending on the calendar) to attend, oversee, and host events.
• Willingness and ability to work evenings and weekends as needed for events.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to represent PlanetScale with polish and authenticity in high-stakes settings.
• This job requires you to work from our San Francisco office at least 3 days a week.

What else will help you be successful

• Prior experience in developer tools, infrastructure, or databases.
• Background in Developer Relations or developer community building.
• Experience with hybrid or digital-first formats alongside in-person.
• Existing relationships in the developer conference and events ecosystem.
• Comfort creating or guiding technical storytelling and working closely with DevRel and Product on content and speakers.

Why PlanetScale

We're redefining how high-growth companies manage data at scale, and we work with some of the most exciting brands in gaming, consumer tech, AI, and B2B SaaS. PlanetScale already has one of the strongest technical communities online. Engineers appreciate our technical content and love our product. What we haven't fully built yet is the real-world version of that, and as Head of Events, that vision is yours to own.

PlanetScale is a profitable company with a philosophy centered around building small teams of p99 individuals and is recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in America.

At PlanetScale we believe in supporting people to do their best work and thrive no matter the location. Our mission is to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive company. We strive to build an inclusive environment where all people feel that they are equally respected and valued, whether they are a candidate or an employee. We welcome applicants of any educational background, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, citizenship, socioeconomic status, disability, pregnancy status, and veteran status.

If you have a disability, please let us know if there's any way we can make the interview process better for you; we're happy to accommodate!

Total Compensation and Pay Transparency

An employee’s total compensation consists of base salary + variable comp where appropriate + benefits + equity. A member of our Talent Acquisition team will be happy to answer any further questions when we engage with you to begin the interview process.

Base salary range: $180,000 - $250,000 USD