An early-stage developer tools startup is hiring a flexible GTM & Product Marketing Lead to build out thought leadership and serve as a strategic sounding board for the founder. The company is building software that helps developers understand code in an AI-assisted world. They're bootstrapped, lean, and pre-traction by design.
The founder is a credible voice in the developer market and wants to lean into thought leadership as the primary go-to-market motion. This role exists to sharpen that voice, amplify it through content and distribution, and partner closely with the founder on positioning, messaging, and brand. You'll help build traction the right way before raising.
Who You Are
You understand developers because you've worked with them. You know they can spot generic sales tactics in five seconds, and you wouldn't try to run that playbook anyway.
You're a natural sounding board. You can sit with a founder, listen to half-formed ideas, and help shape them into something sharper without taking over the wheel.
You believe in thought leadership as a real go-to-market strategy, not a buzzword. You know what credible content looks like in a technical category and what it takes to earn an audience’s attention over time.
You know the difference between using AI as a tool and letting it do your work for you. You bring the expertise that makes the tools sharper, not the other way around.
You work in experiments. You'd rather test, measure, and iterate than guess at what should work.
What You’ll Do
- Serve as a strategic sounding board for the founder on positioning, messaging, content, and brand
- Develop and execute a thought leadership content strategy speicifcally aimed at the developer market
- Sharpen product positioning and messaging for a developer audience
- Design marketing experiments (blog posts, measurement frameworks, distribution tests) for the founder to execute
- Identify and reach out to SMB prospects with a thoughtful, personalized approach where it makes sense
- Build a go-to-market plan that produces real traction before raising
- Review and sharpen content, posts, and messaging before they go live
What We’re Looking For
Required
- 3+ years of GTM, product marketing, or growth experience working directly with developer audiences and in developer tooling
- Built or led a thought leadership content program for at least one developer-focused product, with sustained output over 12+ months
- Authored or directed 50+ pieces of long-form content (blog posts, technical essays, talks, podcasts) for a developer audience
- Has designed and run marketing experiments end-to-end with documented learnings
- Product marketing experience, especially positioning and messaging for technical products
- Operated as a strategic partner or sounding board to at least one founder or technical leader through a full GTM cycle
- Comfortable pushing back on framing or strategy when it’s not landing, and offering a sharper alternative
- Comfort working in early-stage, bootstrapped environments with no large team or budget to lean on
- Strong written communication, with the ability to read a draft and make it sharper
Preferred
- Experience marketing a developer tool, SDK, IDE plugin, or technical infrastructure product
- Background in content marketing for developer relations
- Familiarity with code visualization, AI-assisted development, or modern developer workflows
Bonus
- Based in the Arlington, VA or Washington, DC area
- Personal experience writing or speaking in technical communities