JetBrains Is Looking for a Web and JavaScript Developer Advocate
We have an opening for a Web and JavaScript Developer Advocate. However, the job description might not show the full picture of what it’s like to be a Developer Advocate at JetBrains, so we decided to interview Web and Data Advocacy Team Lead Paul Everitt who is looking to strengthen his team.
Hi Paul! Let’s start by talking about Developer Advocacy at JetBrains. What does it bring to the table?
Two things pop into my mind. First, we’re a “developer’s developer”. We’re not just some API that a company is driving adoption for. We’re the tool used to make that API. We’re really close to developers.
Next, JetBrains is a company that creates essential tools for developers and teams, including IDEs. IDEs are crazy, wonderful things! As advocates, our job is to make our customers into badass developers by helping them master multi-feature IDEs.
Did I say “two things”? Well, here’s a third. JetBrains is a wonderfully unique place to work. It’s one of the few unicorns: a mature, profitable tech company that never went IPO or took VC money. There’s a “go do awesome things” type of culture, and we simply have great products! This is proven each time we are at conferences. So many people come to our booth to say how much they love our products. It’s always a thrill!
Let’s talk about the Web and JavaScript Developer Advocate role you’re looking to fill. What skills and experience should the ideal Web and JavaScript Developer Advocate have?
We are looking for a Web and JavaScript Developer Advocate to add to the Web and Data Advocacy team. The candidate is going to work directly with WebStorm, which is part of most of our IDEs and, so we need storytelling.
We’re looking for someone who wants to make developers better, while using our tooling along the way. This means being fully invested in what WebStorm is about and trying to do.
This person should be already engaged in the world of JavaScript and the web, whether through speaking at conferences, organizing meetups, writing blog posts, recording videos, committing to open-source projects, or being well versed across technologies.
Then there are some basics: good command of English; remote working is OK, though some places are harder than others; willingness to travel; empathy; a good sense of humor, as our advocacy team is a fun bunch; and a desire to do something that impacts people.
You’ve mentioned that you work directly with the WebStorm product team. Do you get to work with other product teams at JetBrains?
WebStorm is key to our full-stack IDE story, so there’s a big need to help all of the other advocates and IDEs with full-stack advocacy. We already work together a good bit, but there’s a lot of opportunity there.
Now, let’s circle back to the WebStorm team. How do things work within the team?
The WebStorm team, especially the product marketing people, are exactly the kind of folks I like working with: innovative, hardworking, outside-the-box thinkers with structured, evidence based reasoning and a commitment to storytelling.
We meet once a week, review what we just did and are about to do, and connect it back to storytelling. I come up with content ideas that reinforce what we’re emphasizing, propose them, hash them out, and assign dates.
I’ll give an example. I got very excited about WebStorm’s Vitest support and spent a lot of time with it. Just before typing these answers, I finished a transcript for a Vitest video on my channel. Yesterday, we set up a Vitest webinar for February. Next week, I’ll review the improvements from a developer who is responsible for the integration.
I chose most of that simply because Vitest-WebStorm really tickled my brain.
How do you see WebStorm changing in the coming years? Are there new directions you want to explore?
I’ll give a sneak peek: Web and JavaScript are going to be big at JetBrains this year. WebStorm’s 2023 roadmap already covers some of what’s in progress, plus we have some other goodies cooking in the kitchen. Now is the ideal time for someone to join us and leave their mark.
With a wonderful product, a company you can admire and believe in, work-life balance, and an advocacy chat channel, we really should charge admission to the show!
Conclusion
If you feel that this Developer Advocate position fits you well and your experience matches what we’re looking for, please send us your application. We look forward to hearing from you and doing awesome things!
The WebStorm team
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