Lead Developer Advocate

Saaspo; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mastery‑matched compensation

Flex Comp program

Remote by design

Destination 90

Job summary

Shopify Inc. is seeking a senior developer advocate to drive our developer relations strategy from concept to execution in San Francisco.

You will partner with founders and engineers to help teams build on Shopify, grow the developer community, and ship products powered by Shopify. You will build relationships with accelerators, investors, and developer platforms, run events, and help turn developer feedback into actionable product improvements.

Qualifications

• Experience leading developer advocacy programs from strategy to execution.
• Strong background shipping software and debugging production issues.
• Ability to learn new codebases quickly and explain complex tech clearly.

Responsibilities

• Set the strategy to reach target developers, use cases, and communities.
• Build relationships with accelerators, investors, and platforms to drive adoption of Shopify.
• Grow the developer community through meetups, hackathons, and workshops.

Skills

Developer advocacy

Community building

Public speaking

APIs integration

Technical writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Tools

APIs

Job description

Help make Shopify the commerce layer for AI applications. Based in San Francisco, you'll lead our developer advocacy strategy and work directly with founders and engineers to put it into practice. You'll build relationships, grow the developer community and help teams build and launch products powered by Shopify.

What you'll do

Set the strategy: Prioritize target developers, use cases, and communities. Define how we reach them and help them build on Shopify.

Build relationships: Work with accelerators, investors, and developer platforms to meet teams early, understand what they're building, and help them choose Shopify.

Grow the community: Run meetups, hackathons, workshops, and office hours. Share code, demos, and lessons in public, and keep momentum between events.

Build alongside developers: Pair with founders and engineers to integrate Shopify, clear technical blockers, and ship to production. Pull in Product, Engineering, or Partnerships when needed.

Improve the developer experience: Turn recurring work into reusable code, tools, and docs. Channel developer feedback to Product and Engineering to fix common problems.

Measure and scale: Track engagement and adoption, A/B test approaches, double down on what works, and recommend skills and hires as the program grows.

What you'll bring

Experience building a developer advocacy, developer relations, or technical ecosystem program end to end—strategy through execution.

Hands-on engineering or solutions background: shipping software, integrating APIs, implementing auth, and debugging production issues.

Experience building with AI development tools, and the ability to learn unfamiliar codebases fast.

Credibility with developers: you pair well with founders and engineers and explain technical concepts clearly.

A track record of running developer events, building communities, and publishing useful technical content. You represent a platform well in person and online.

Bias for action and follow-through. You're based in San Francisco and work with developers in person.

About the discipline

Partnerships at Shopify

Every discipline at Shopify works close to real merchant problems. You'll join a team that owns meaningful scope, ships to a high bar, and helps millions of entrepreneurs start, run, and scale their businesses.

Growth and rewards

Mastery-matched compensation.

~Mastery

At Shopify, getting better at your craft and increasing your impact is how you grow. Twice a year, we assess both in our ~Mastery cycle, Shopify's performance review. Achieving higher ~Mastery is a promotion, and when you earn a promotion your total rewards grow with it. Crafter and manager are equal paths, so you can pursue excellence in the craft you're best at.

Total Rewards

With Flex Comp, your Rewards Wallet gives you agency over your compensation mix. Adjust your mix of cash, restricted share units, and stock options (including programs like Long-Term Equity)* to where it makes sense for you, and mix it up anytime as life and priorities change. Buying a house? Want more skin in the game? Just experimenting? It's your call.

* Flex Comp program offerings vary based on location, role, and employment type. Full details are set out in our Terms & Conditions and related plan documents.

Built for real life

Room for the rest of your life.

Flexible work, remote by design

A flexible vacation policy means most Shopifolk can take the vacation days they feel they need to recharge.

If a change of everyday scenery is more your jam, Destination 90 means you can work from (almost) anywhere in the world for 90 days of the year.

Your setup

Your battlestation is your home base. Request the desk, chair, and AV gear you need to get shit done.

You need 'em, we've got 'em. Our health and welfare benefits may include health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance depending on your country. If you're in a country without a package, you'll receive a monthly allowance. We also offer mental health support for you and your dependents, including immediate and confidential services like counseling and coaching sessions.

Family support

We offer fertility benefits globally, along with paid parental leave to welcome a new family member.

The Life Story is how we understand the themes of your career journey so far, human to human. What you've learned, and how you made a difference. Show us the trophies and the bruises: the problems you've solved, the challenges you encountered, the decisions you made, and the lessons you learned along the way.