Staff Developer Advocate

Engg; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive Health Coverage

Meaningful Equity

401(k) matching

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Lightning AI, the company behind PyTorch Lightning, is seeking a Staff Developer Advocate to serve as a technical champion for the AI builders on Lighting AI. In this role, you will bridge the gap between our engineering teams and the AI builder community to drive awareness, education, and adoption through engaging technical content delivered across multiple channels.

This role reports to the CMO and partners closely with Product Management, Engineering and Marketing teams.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Developer Relations, Developer Advocacy, Solutions Engineering, or Software Engineering within Infrastructure, developer tools, and AI/ML technologies.
• Deep hands-on expertise in Python, PyTorch, Tensorflow, and modern AI/ML frameworks (e.g., LLMs, distributed training, vLLM, Hugging Face, CUDA).
• Solid understanding of cloud infrastructure, GPUs, distributed systems, deployment workflows for AI models, and agentic development.
• Exceptional public speaking and technical storytelling skills, with a proven track record of keynote speaking, podcasting, community building, and technical content creation for international audiences.
• Experience developing technology solutions and evangelising end-to-end technology roadmaps that guide IT transformations toward cloud computing.
• Ability to work autonomously and manage multiple initiatives across different technical communities.
• Ability to travel (including internationally when needed).

Responsibilities

• Create high-impact, educational technical content, including deep-dive tutorials, code samples, technical blogs, and reference architectures showcasing Lightning AI products.
• Increase awareness of Lightning AI through engagement with the AI/ML and developer communities through keynote presentations, technical workshops, hackathons, and developer conferences.
• Champion the voice of the customer to product and engineering teams.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering teams to advocate for developer feedback, influencing product roadmaps and developer experience (DX).
• Gaining industry recognition and credibility as a regular attendee and speaker at third party technology conferences, shows and press events.
• Mentor junior developer advocates and community managers, fostering a collaborative, high-performing DevRel culture rooted in technical depth and developer empathy.
• Establish experimentation and AI-native automation as core operating principles and develop testing frameworks across content form factors, channels, and topics.

Skills

Python

PyTorch

TensorFlow

AI/ML frameworks

Job description

Who We Are

Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems—designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction. Through our merger with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Teams get the tools they need for experimentation, training, and production inference, with security, observability, and control built in. We serve solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises. Lightning AI operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London, and is backed by Coatue, Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Firstminute.

The Way We Work

The people who thrive here are builders who move fast, communicate openly, take ownership, and continuously improve themselves, their teams, and our company. Here's what that looks like in practice: Move with Urgency: We move quickly, make thoughtful decisions, and keep momentum. We value action over perfection and learn by shipping. Take Ownership: We own outcomes, not just our individual work. We make decisions that move the company forward and follow through. Communicate Openly: We communicate directly, seek to understand, and create clarity for others. Honest conversations help us move faster together. Build Great Teams: We lead by example, empower others, and create healthy teams where people can do their best work. Raise the Bar: We're always improving ourselves. We learn from feedback, consistently challenge ourselves to grow, and focus on the work that matters most. Think Long-Term: We design for what's next. We create scalable systems, simplify complexity, and use AI and automation to amplify our impact.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for a Staff Developer Advocate to serve as a technical champion, voice of the community, and strategic partner for the AI builders on Lighting AI. In this role, you will bridge the gap between our engineering teams and the AI builder community to drive awareness, education, and adoption through engaging technical content delivered across multiple channels. This role reports to the CMO and partners closely with Product Management, Engineering and Marketing teams.

What You’ll Do

• Create high-impact, educational technical content, including deep-dive tutorials, code samples, technical blogs, and reference architectures showcasing Lightning AI products.
• Increase awareness of Lightning AI through engagement with the AI/ML and developer communities through keynote presentations, technical workshops, hackathons, and developer conferences.
• Champion the voice of the customer to product and engineering teams.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering teams to advocate for developer feedback, influencing product roadmaps and developer experience (DX).
• Gaining industry recognition and credibility as a regular attendee and speaker at third party technology conferences, shows and press events.
• Mentor junior developer advocates and community managers, fostering a collaborative, high-performing DevRel culture rooted in technical depth and developer empathy.
• Establish experimentation and AI-native automation as core operating principles and develop testing frameworks across content form factors, channels, and topics.

What You’ll Need

• 10+ years of experience in Developer Relations, Developer Advocacy, Solutions Engineering, or Software Engineering within Infrastructure, developer tools, and AI/ML technologies.
• Deep hands-on expertise in Python, PyTorch, Tensorflow, and modern AI/ML frameworks (e.g., LLMs, distributed training, vLLM, Hugging Face, CUDA).
• Solid understanding of cloud infrastructure, GPUs, distributed systems, deployment workflows for AI models, and agentic development.
• Exceptional public speaking and technical storytelling skills, with a proven track record of keynote speaking, podcasting, community building, and technical content creation for international audiences.
• Experience developing technology solutions and evangelising end-to-end technology roadmaps that guide IT transformations toward cloud computing.
• Ability to work autonomously and manage multiple initiatives across different technical communities.
• Ability to travel (including internationally when needed).

We are committed to offering competitive compensation that reflects the value each team member brings to our mission. Final offers are based on factors such as experience, skills, geographic location, and role expectations. In addition to base salary, our total rewards package for eligible roles includes a discretionary bonus, a meaningful equity component, and comprehensive benefits. The anticipated annual base salary range for this role is: $190,000 - $230,000 USD

Benefits and Perks

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and eligible dependents.
• Meaningful Equity: RSUs that give employees a stake in the company's long-term success.
• Retirement Savings: 401(k) matching (U.S.) and pension contributions (U.K.).
• Flexible Time Off: Unlimited PTO, company holidays, and floating holidays to support work-life balance.
• Company-Wide Winter Break: Two weeks of company closure each winter to disconnect and recharge.
• Paid Parental & Family Leave: Paid leave to support you and your family through life's important moments.
• Professional Development: Annual learning and development allowance to support your professional growth.
• Wellness Benefits: Wellness and work-from-home stipends to support your physical and mental well-being.
• Sabbatical Program: Four weeks of paid sabbatical leave after four years of service.
• Flexible Work: Flexible schedules and a hybrid work model for our office-based teams.
• In-Office Meals: Complimentary meals at our office hubs.