Cover Letter: Senior Developer Experience and Growth Marketing Lead, AI Futures Fund

Wednesday, October 29th, 2025

Dear Google AI Futures Fund Team,

I'm applying for the Senior Developer Experience and Growth Marketing Lead role because I think this is exactly the kind of work I should be doing: helping technical founders build compelling narratives, creating ecosystems where builders can connect, and making AI tools accessible to the people who will build the next generation of companies.

I spent four years as a software engineer at Google Cloud in New York. I left to explore entrepreneurship, community building, developer relations, and helping startups tell their stories. Now I want to come back to Google, but in a role where I can combine technical fluency with ecosystem building and growth marketing.

Why I'm a Fit

While I haven't held an official "DevRel" role before, I have built and scaled technical communities, created compelling narratives for founders, organized major developer events, and helped startups find their place in emerging technology ecosystems. I learn fast, and I'm genuinely excited about this work.

What I bring to the table:

I write code. I use tools like Gemini regularly. I understand what developers need and how they think.

I'm well connected in developer communities, recently graduating top of my class at Gauntlet AI, an AI-first coding bootcamp where I worked with AI engineers and builders every day, 100 hours per week.

I'm good at building personal brands for technical, nerdy founders. I've created case studies, conducted interviews with smart founders, and helped people who build great products learn how to talk about them in ways that resonate.

I've organized multiple technical and cross-industry events, including Edge City Denver 2024—a seven-day developer event alongside ETHDenver with 3,000+ attendees and 4.6/5 average satisfaction. I designed the programming, recruited speakers, and built the buzz through consistent, compelling communication that made the concept feel inevitable.

I've done some PR work, digital marketing, and A/B testing. I know it's important to measure what's working and iterate fast.

I'm really good at community building, both online and in person. I know how to create spaces where founders, researchers, and portfolio company leaders want to show up, connect, share insights, and collaborate.

I'm genuinely interested in the venture capital and startup funding space. This role would give me the opportunity to learn from the inside while contributing immediately through my existing skills in developer relations, content creation, and ecosystem building.

The Ask

I care about the opportunity to work on something meaningful, learn fast, and help build the AI Futures Fund ecosystem from the ground up.

I'm confident I can deliver meaningful impact quickly. I understand the startup ecosystem, I speak developer, and I know how to build communities around emerging technology.

I appreciate your consideration and the opportunity to share why I believe I'd be a great addition to the AI Futures Fund team.

Gary Sheng