Member of Technical Staff (Engineering Lead, Developer Experience & Relations)

Perplexity AI1 weeks ago

Location

San Francisco

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 220,000 – 405,000

Level

Lead

Role

Engineering Lead

Posted

Jul 17, 2026

Full TimeLead

The role

Summary

Member of Technical Staff (Engineering Lead, Developer Experience & Relations) at Perplexity AI, a cutting-edge AI infrastructure and search company. This leadership role oversees the complete developer experience lifecycle for the Perplexity API Platform, combining technical depth with community building to drive adoption among thousands of customers from startups to enterprises. You'll be responsible for API design, developer advocacy, documentation standards, and building a thriving developer ecosystem while championing builder needs across SDKs, CLIs, MCPs, and AI agent integrations.

What you'll do

Oversee Developer Experience Portfolio: Lead and manage the complete developer experience strategy across the Perplexity API Platform, ensuring cohesive and intuitive developer journeys from API discovery through production deployment. Establish comprehensive DX metrics, KPIs, and quality standards that track adoption, retention, and customer satisfaction across all developer touchpoints.

Craft and Curate Developer-Facing Interfaces: Direct the development and refinement of all developer-facing materials including API documentation, SDK libraries, command-line interfaces (CLIs), Model Context Protocols (MCPs), and Agent Skills. Maintain meticulous attention to detail and API ergonomics, ensuring intuitive interfaces that reduce time-to-first-success for developers integrating Perplexity's AI capabilities.

Build and Nurture Developer Community: Establish and grow a vibrant developer community that actively evangelizes Perplexity's API offerings and extends the boundaries of what's possible with AI infrastructure. Create feedback loops with community members to identify pain points, validate new features, and ensure developers feel heard and valued as strategic partners.

Represent Developer Voice Internally: Serve as the primary advocate for developers within Perplexity, maintaining a comprehensive understanding of customer priorities, common success patterns, friction points, and unmet needs. Translate developer feedback into product priorities and ensure engineering, product, and GTM teams are aligned on developer-centric solutions.

Lead Public Engagement and Developer Relations: Orchestrate high-impact developer engagement across conferences, developer events, social media platforms, technical forums, and community channels. Author thought leadership content, deliver conference talks, engage in technical discussions, and establish yourself as a trusted authority on AI API platforms and developer infrastructure.

Create Ecosystem Resources and Examples: Foster a comprehensive ecosystem of community-contributed resources, code examples, reference implementations, and best practices documentation that demonstrate optimal usage patterns for each API offering. Set the standard for how developers can most effectively leverage Perplexity's AI capabilities in production systems.

Define and Drive Developer Health Metrics: Establish quantifiable metrics for developer satisfaction, platform adoption, time-to-integration, and business impact. Drive continuous improvement initiatives based on data-driven insights, ensuring Perplexity API Platform remains the preferred choice for developers building AI systems.

Facilitate Learning and Experimentation Programs: Design and execute workshops, hackathons, developer summits, and hands-on training programs that convert developer curiosity into active experimentation, experimentation into production deployments, and deployments into measurable customer success stories and revenue impact.

Cross-Functional Partnership and Collaboration: Collaborate seamlessly with technical staff, product teams, go-to-market organizations, developer support, and customer success to ensure developers succeed across every industry vertical and deployment scale. Break silos and ensure consistent, developer-first thinking across all organizational functions.

What we look for

Technical

API Design and DevelopmentDemonstrated expertise in designing, building, and iterating on API products from conception through production. Strong understanding of REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and other modern API paradigms with hands-on experience architecting developer-friendly interfaces that prioritize clarity, consistency, and ease-of-use.

Modern AI Stack UnderstandingComprehensive knowledge of contemporary AI/ML infrastructure including large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), agent runtimes, orchestration frameworks, and vector databases. Understanding of major platform players, open-source alternatives, and differentiation opportunities across the stack.

API Ecosystem MasteryDeep mental model of how developers discover, evaluate, and select API platforms. Expertise in developer decision-making processes, competitive positioning, and factors influencing adoption across enterprise, mid-market, and startup segments.

SDK and Developer ToolingHands-on experience with software development kits (SDKs), CLI tools, code generation frameworks, and modern developer tooling. Ability to prototype and develop end-to-end developer experiences that balance power with accessibility.

Agent Framework KnowledgeFamiliarity with AI agent frameworks, orchestration patterns, and emerging standards like Model Context Protocols (MCPs). Understanding of how agents interact with APIs and the unique developer experience considerations for agent-based systems.

Education

Computer Science or Related FieldBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent field, OR equivalent professional experience demonstrating deep technical foundation and continuous learning in software development practices.

Experience

Developer-Focused Product LeadershipMinimum 5-8 years of substantial experience building or leading products with explicit developer-facing components. Proven track record of driving adoption metrics, growing developer communities, and translating developer feedback into product improvements that demonstrably impact business outcomes.

Developer Relations and Community BuildingDirect experience in developer relations, developer advocacy, or technical community management roles. Demonstrated ability to build engaged communities, facilitate knowledge sharing, and create environments where developers feel supported and empowered to succeed.

Technical Writing and DocumentationExtensive experience creating high-quality technical documentation, API reference materials, tutorials, and developer guides. Proven ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to diverse developer audiences ranging from junior developers to senior architects.

Public Speaking and Thought LeadershipProven ability to represent organizations at developer conferences, webinars, and community events. Experience building personal brand and credibility within developer communities through conference talks, published articles, and social media engagement.

Skills

Required skills

Technical API DevelopmentProduction-level experience designing, building, and shipping API products with strong emphasis on developer experience, documentation quality, and tooling ecosystem

Developer Community LeadershipDemonstrated ability to build engaged communities, gather developer feedback, and translate requirements into product improvements and educational initiatives

Technical CommunicationExpert-level written and oral communication with particular fluency in technical writing, API documentation, conference presentations, and developer-focused content creation

AI/ML Platform UnderstandingSound working knowledge of modern AI technical stack including LLMs, retrieval systems, agent frameworks, and orchestration patterns with ability to communicate value propositions to developers

Product ThinkingStrong product intuition with ability to balance feature completeness, ergonomic design, and developer needs. Experience gathering customer insights, defining metrics, and driving data-informed decisions

Cross-Functional CollaborationProven ability to work effectively with engineering, product, marketing, and support teams. Experience translating between technical and business stakeholders while advocating for developer needs

Nice to have

Enterprise AI Integration ExperiencePrior experience working with enterprise customers deploying AI solutions, understanding their integration challenges, security requirements, and scalability concerns

Open Source Community ContributionActive participation in or leadership of open source projects, demonstrating commitment to community values and experience maintaining developer-focused infrastructure

Large Language Model ExpertiseHands-on experience building applications with LLMs, understanding prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and architectural patterns for production LLM systems

Infrastructure and DevOps KnowledgeFamiliarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), containerization, infrastructure-as-code, and deployment patterns relevant to modern API platforms

Multi-language SDK DevelopmentExperience developing SDKs across multiple programming languages (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Rust, Java) ensuring consistency and quality across the ecosystem

Startup or Hypergrowth ExperienceTrack record of operating effectively in fast-paced, rapidly evolving environments where priorities shift frequently and execution speed is critical

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 220,000 – 405,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity Compensation

Competitive stock options package as part of total compensation, allowing you to participate in Perplexity AI's growth as a leader in the AI infrastructure space

Health and Wellness Benefits

Comprehensive health insurance coverage including medical, dental, and vision plans for employee and dependents

Professional Development

Budget and support for conference attendance, technical training, and continuous learning opportunities to maintain expertise in rapidly evolving AI landscape

Flexible Work Environment

Collaborative work culture with flexibility to balance remote and in-office presence, supporting work-life integration

Founder-Led Culture

Opportunity to work closely with founders and leadership in a high-growth startup environment solving frontier problems in AI infrastructure

Community and Impact

Direct influence on how thousands of developers adopt and succeed with cutting-edge AI technology, creating meaningful impact at scale

Interview process

1
Initial Screening Call — 30-minute conversation with Talent team to discuss your background, interest in developer experience leadership, and alignment with Perplexity's mission in AI infrastructure
2
Technical Leadership Interview — 60-minute technical discussion with Senior Engineering Leadership covering your experience with API design, developer tooling, and your mental model of modern AI platform architecture
3
Product and Community Strategy Interview — 60-minute conversation focused on your approach to developer community building, creating exceptional developer experiences, and driving adoption through strategic initiatives
4
Cross-Functional Collaboration Interview — 45-minute round with members of Product, Go-to-Market, and Support teams to assess cross-functional working style and ability to champion developer needs
5
Leadership and Craft Standards Interview — 60-minute discussion with Member(s) of Technical Staff exploring your leadership philosophy, commitment to quality, taste for API design, and how you maintain high standards
6
Founder Conversation — Final conversation with Perplexity leadership to discuss long-term vision, your aspirations as a technical leader, and cultural fit with the organization