We're looking for someone to join the team and help more developers discover and succeed with OpenZiti.
The role is hands-on — you'll write code (Go, Java, C/C++, JavaScript and more), build tutorials and reference architectures, ship real demos, and spend time in communities helping people understand the parts of zero trust networking that might have been difficult to understand at first.
You'll also drive integration into complementary projects and feed what you're hearing from external developers back to the team. We're a small team, there's real autonomy, and you'll definitely have an impact.
If this sounds like you, or if someone in your network comes to mind — send them this way.
Here's a more formal "Job Description" below 
How to Apply
DM me here on Discourse or DM me on LinkedIn:
- Resume/LinkedIn
- Portfolio: 3-5 examples of technical content you created that drove measurable adoption (with metrics
if available) - Community impact: Links to your GitHub, Stack Overflow, blog, or communities where you're active
- Cover note (brief): Answer these questions:
- What's the most technically complex concept you've made accessible? How did you do it?
- Describe a time you influenced product direction through developer feedback
- Why zero trust networking? Why now?
Senior Developer Advocate
Role Overview
NetFoundry is seeking a Senior Developer Advocate to accelerate adoption of our zero trust overlay network
platform among developers, partners, and technical buyers.
This is a hands-on individual contributor role focused on execution. You will work with OpenZiti and related
open source projects, which are powerful but often intimidating, and help developers understand why this shift
matters for the applications they are building and how to use it in practice.
The Core Challenge: Zero trust networking and overlay networks are genuinely new territory for most
developers. They span security, networking, and distributed systems in ways that aren't yet part of most
developers standard developer toolkit. Your job is to be the guide: taking concepts that sound like
enterprise architecture diagrams and turning them into clear mental models, working code samples, and
"aha!" moments that make developers say "oh, this solves real problems I've been working to solve."
You will act as:
- A translator making intimidating networking concepts accessible and compelling
- A credible builder of demos, samples, and reference architectures
- A structured feedback channel between developers and product teams
- A catalyst for developer ecosystem growth from near-zero awareness
Key Activities
Developer Advocacy & Awareness
- Proactively engage in strategic online communities, driving meaningful discussions, answering questions, and building trusted relationships with developers
- Ship substantial technical tutorials or reference architectures
- Build and maintain demo environments showcasing real-world use cases
- Write at multiple depth levels: intro tutorials → architectural deep-dives
- Deliver technical presentations and hands-on workshops at targeted conferences
- Participate in podcasts, webinars, and technical interviews
- Create compelling analogies and mental models that make complex networking accessible
Developer Experience & Product Feedback
- Maintain active feedback loops with the community
- Document onboarding friction and recurring pain points in concise reports
- Advocate for developer needs with the product team
- Review SDKs, APIs, documentation for clarity
- Own monthly metrics dashboard: content reach, community health, developer satisfaction
Ecosystem & Strategic Support
- Drive inclusion of OpenZiti in complementary projects’ documentation, examples, integrations, and reference architectures
- Identify opportunities to embed OpenZiti into adjacent developer workflows and tooling ecosystems
- Build relationships with technical champions at strategic accounts
- Organize quarterly virtual meetups or local gatherings
- Identify and nurture potential integration partners
You Should Know
The Reality:
- OpenZiti is proven but not yet widely known — you're building awareness in communities ready for this approach
- You'll operate with lean resources; prioritization and ROI focus are critical
- Networking and security concepts are genuinely difficult to communicate; patience and creativity required
- You'll constantly context-switch between technical depth and accessible communication
You'll Thrive If:
- You get energized by explaining hard things until they click for people
- You can context-switch between writing code, writing tutorials, and talking to customers
- You can work independently but know when to ask for help
- You don't need a big brand behind you — you can build credibility through technical substance
What We're Looking For
Required
- 7-10+ years in technical roles with 3+ years explicitly in Developer Advocacy, DevRel, or
Developer Experience - Infrastructure platform experience: You've worked with APIs, networking tools, security platforms,
or distributed systems — not just application frameworks - Portfolio of technical content that demonstrably drove adoption (provide links in application)
- Evidence of community growth you directly influenced with metrics (GitHub analytics, forum growth,
content reach → activation) - Proven coding ability: You build demos developers trust enough to fork and use as starting points
- Multi-language experience: Hands-on work with at least two of Go, Java, C/C++, JavaScript
- Multi-level communication: Can write intro tutorials for junior devs AND architectural guides for
staff engineers
Strongly Preferred
- Demonstrated experience growing a developer community through a significant inflection point
- Comfort with networking and security concepts, or proven ability to quickly master complex technical domains
- Open source community management or core contributor experience
- Track record building developer awareness for a product without strong brand recognition
- Proven ability to create metaphors and mental models that make abstract concepts concrete
- History of working cross-functionally (product, engineering, sales) to drive adoption
Not Required (But Helpful)
- Experience with Go, C/C++, or systems programming
- Kubernetes operator development or service mesh architectures
- Prior work in zero trust, SASE, or SD-WAN spaces
- Video content creation or live streaming technical content
Team & Reporting:
- Reports to: Head of Developer Experience (who actively works alongside you in the field)
- Team size: You'll be the founding DevRel hire with room to shape the program and grow the function
- You'll have a partner, not just a manager — collaborative execution on big initiatives
Operational Details:
- Fully remote; U.S. time zones preferred for overlap with team and community
- Quarterly planning cycle: You'll own your roadmap with input from stakeholders
- Travel: Expect conferences/year plus occasional customer visits
- Autonomy: High — you'll be trusted to prioritize based on impact, not activity