The Technical Lead, Developer Experience will play a pivotal role in shaping how developers interact with Ably’s realtime platform. You’ll lead a dedicated engineering team, improve SDKs and APIs, and champion developer-centric design to ensure seamless integration and long-term success for developers using Ably.
What You'll Do
- Lead and mentor a team of engineers focused on developer experience
- Define and execute the technical vision for SDKs, APIs, and developer tooling
- Improve documentation, onboarding flows, and code samples to reduce time-to-first-message
- Collaborate with product and engineering teams to ensure developer-centric design
- Identify and prioritize developer pain points and advocate for solutions
- Contribute to open-source projects and engage with the broader developer community
- Ensure SDKs are maintainable, well-tested, and follow platform conventions
- Drive best practices in API design, error handling, and observability
What We're Looking For
- 5+ years of software engineering experience with a focus on developer tools or platforms
- Strong experience in designing, building, and maintaining SDKs and APIs
- Proficiency in multiple programming languages (e.g. JavaScript, Python, Java, Go)
- Experience leading engineering teams and mentoring developers
- Deep understanding of REST, WebSockets, and realtime messaging patterns
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to write clear technical documentation
- Proven track record of improving developer experience and adoption
Nice to Have
- Experience with Ably, Pusher, Firebase, or similar realtime platforms
- Open-source contributions, especially in developer tooling or SDKs
- Familiarity with observability, logging, and debugging tools for distributed systems
- Background in frontend and backend development
- Experience working in a remote-first, global engineering team
Technical Stack
JavaScript, Python, Java, Go, REST, WebSockets, GitHub, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, OpenAPI, gRPC
Team & Environment
You’ll be part of a small to mid-sized team within a cross-functional engineering group focused on developer experience, reporting to the Engineering Manager or Director of Engineering. Ably fosters a remote-first, inclusive, and collaborative culture that values transparency and innovation.
Benefits & Compensation
- Competitive salary
- Equity package
- Flexible working hours
- Remote-first culture with team meetups
- Annual company retreat
- Health and wellness benefits
- Unlimited paid time off (PTO)
- Learning and development budget
- Home office setup allowance
- Generous parental leave
- Mental health support
- Inclusive and diverse team culture
Work Mode
Fully remote with flexibility to work across time zones. Ably operates as a global, remote-first company, supporting team members worldwide.
Ably is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status.