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weston

1,617 karma · joined September 3, 2010

westonludeke(at)gmail(dot)com linkedin.com/in/westonludeke
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weston··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (December 2025)

    Location: Remote (U.S.-based)
    Remote: Yes 
    Willing to relocate: No
    Technologies: JavaScript/TypeScript (React, Node), Python, Ruby
    Résumé/CV: https://linkedin.com/in/westonludeke
    GitHub: https://github.com/westonludeke
    Email: westonludeke [at] gmail.com
Looking for: Developer Relations (DevRel) / Support Engineer / Customer Engineer

I joined Pythagora (YC W24), an early-stage AI vibe coding startup, right out of YC. I built their entire developer experience function from scratch as the first customer-facing hire on a 5-person team:

* Launched and scaled all developer community channels (Discord, GitHub, X, LinkedIn, Reddit)

* Wrote, updated, and improved all product documentation & READMEs

* Shipped full-stack demo apps (JS & TS) and wrote technical tutorials

* Created YouTube videos and blog posts that grew our developer reach by 4x

* Led marketing campaigns that drove tens of thousands of engineers to new product launches

* Partnered with engineering and founders to shape the product roadmap through community feedback

Previously spent 7 years at Streak (YC S11) building automation workflows and doing support engineering.

weston··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (November 2025)

   Location: Remote (U.S.-based)
    Remote: Yes 
    Willing to relocate: No
    Technologies: JavaScript/TypeScript (React, Node), Python, Ruby
    Résumé/CV: https://linkedin.com/in/westonludeke
    GitHub: https://github.com/westonludeke
    Email: westonludeke [at] gmail.com
Looking for: Developer Relations Engineer / Support Engineer

I joined Pythagora (YC W24), an early-stage AI vibe coding startup, right out of YC. I built their entire developer experience function from scratch as the first customer-facing hire on a 5-person team:

* Launched and scaled all developer community channels (Discord, GitHub, X, LinkedIn, Reddit)

* Wrote, updated, and improved all product documentation & READMEs

* Shipped full-stack demo apps (JS & TS) and wrote technical tutorials

* Created YouTube videos and blog posts that grew our developer reach by 4x

* Led marketing campaigns that drove tens of thousands of engineers to new product launches

* Partnered with engineering and founders to shape the product roadmap through community feedback

Previously spent 7 years at Streak (YC S11) building automation workflows and doing support engineering.

weston··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2025)

    Location: Remote (U.S.-based)
    Remote: Yes (open to frequent travel for events + meetups + conferences)
    Willing to relocate: No
    Technologies: JavaScript (React, Node), TypeScript, Python, Ruby, etc.
    Résumé/CV: https://linkedin.com/in/westonludeke
    GitHub: https://github.com/westonludeke
    Email: westonludeke [at] gmail.com
At Pythagora (YC W24), I built Developer Relations 0 -> 1 from scratch as the first customer-facing hire on a 5-person team:

* Launched and scaled all developer community channels (Discord, GitHub, X, LinkedIn, Reddit)

* Wrote, updated, and improved all product documentation & READMEs

* Shipped full-stack demo apps and wrote technical tutorials

* Created YouTube videos and blog posts that grew our developer reach by 4×

* Led marketing campaigns that drove tens of thousands of engineers to new product launches

* Partnered with engineering and founders to shape the product roadmap through community feedback

Before that, I worked at Streak (YC S11) for 7 years on their support team. I studied software engineering on the side. My GitHub includes both technical projects as well as examples of DevRel content I've created: https://github.com/westonludeke

weston··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (July 2025)
Let me build your customer team from scratch.

You’re a founder with a small, engineering-heavy team. You’ve got early revenue, a growing user base, and real traction, but no time to keep talking to users. You’ve outgrown founder-led support, and now you need someone to own everything user-facing.

I’m that person.

At Pythagora (YC W24), I was the first customer hire. I built DevRel, support, docs, demos, community, and launch content from zero. I set up systems to pull user insights from Discord, GitHub, Reddit, and email and turned that into product direction. I ran influencer campaigns, launched features, and shipped full-stack demo apps to tell the product story.

Before that, I spent 7 years at Streak (YC S11), leading technical support, building internal tooling in SQL, Zapier, and BigQuery, and working closely with the founders to guide product.

I'm also a software engineer. I’ve built internal tools, demo apps, and full-stack open-source projects, including a deploy preview framework I documented in a full technical case study.

Looking for a small, sharp team with early traction, ideally post-launch with signs of real user pull, but still pre-scale. A place where I can be the bridge between users and engineers, and help drive growth without the fluff.

    Location: Remote (U.S.-based)
    Remote: Yes (open to frequent SF travel / co-location)
    Willing to relocate: Remote preferred, open to relocation for the right opportunity
    Technologies: JavaScript (React, Node), TypeScript, Python, Ruby, etc.
    Résumé/CV: https://linkedin.com/in/westonludeke
    GitHub: https://github.com/westonludeke
    Email: westonludeke [at] gmail.com
weston··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (June 2025)

    Location: Remote (U.S.-based)
    Remote: Yes (open to occasional SF travel or co-location)
    Willing to relocate: No
    Technologies: JavaScript (React, Node), Python, Ruby, MongoDB, Postgres, REST APIs, Postman, AWS, Docker
    Résumé/CV: https://linkedin.com/in/westonludeke
    Email: westonludeke [at] gmail.com
Customer-Facing Engineer / DevRel / Support Leader — Built multiple 0→1 functions at early YC startups.

I'm a customer-facing technical leader with 10+ years in tech and a track record of building customer experience functions from scratch. Most recently, I was the first customer-facing hire at Pythagora (YC W24), a startup building an AI software engineer. I owned everything outside of engineering: support, developer relations / developer advocate, docs, YouTube demos, influencer outreach, blog posts, and building + open-sourcing demo apps.

Before that, I was the first remote hire at Streak (YC S11) and spent several years owning customer onboarding, support, and automation. I also learned to code on the side, eventually completing the Capstone program at Launch School.

I’m especially strong in early-stage chaos, where startups need someone who can do a bit of everything, talk to users, squash bugs, clean up docs, spin up demo apps, handle a support queue, write content, and generally make the founders’ lives easier.

I’m looking for a startup where I can either be the first customer engineer or support leader, or join a small team as a DevRel/Community Engineer and help ship content + build trust with technical users.

What I’m best at:

* Translating user feedback into roadmap clarity

* Turning vague “customer needs” into structured, scalable systems

* Writing fast, clear docs + building content users actually read

* Jumping into startup Discords and building real community

* Owning support and success systems without needing hand-holding

weston··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (June 2024)
Location: Houston

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: JavaScript, Ruby, TypeScript, Express, Node.js, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, SQL, etc. Full list on my GitHub: https://github.com/westonludeke

Résumé/CV: https://westonludeke.github.io/assets/files/Weston_Ludeke_Re...

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/westonludeke

Email: westonludeke [at] gmail [dot] com

I am a Software Engineer proficient in the JavaScript, Ruby, and TypeScript ecosystems. In recent years, I have focused on contributing to open-source projects, notably developing Campfire (https://campfire-previews.github.io), an open-source tool that enhances CI/CD pipelines by providing self-hosted, dedicated preview environments for containerized applications.

Before transitioning to development, I worked at the intersection of engineering and customer relations, accumulating over a decade of tech industry experience at multiple VC-backed Silicon Valley startups, including seven years at Streak (YC S11).

I'm primarily looking at software engineering roles, but also would consider a hybrid customer + engineering role (such as solutions engineer or DevRel, etc) for the right company.

weston··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (May 2024)
Location: Houston / Austin

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: JavaScript, Ruby, TypeScript, Express, Node.js, MongoDB, SQL. Full list on my GitHub: https://github.com/westonludeke

Résumé/CV: https://westonludeke.github.io/assets/files/Weston_Ludeke_Re...

Email: westonludeke [at] gmail [dot] com

For the past 3-4 years, I've focused on contributing to open-source projects, including the development of Campfire (https://campfire-previews.github.io), an open-source tool that enhances CI/CD pipelines by providing self-hosted, dedicated preview environments for containerized applications.

Before transitioning to full-time software engineering, I accrued seven years of experience in support at Streak (YC S11), deepening my ability to communicate between customers and engineering and product teams. With over a decade in the tech industry, primarily at startups, I excel not only at coding but also in creating comprehensive documentation and clear technical content. I authored Campfire's comprehensive technical case study.

weston··on Arrest made in SF killing of Bob Lee – alleged killer also worked in tech
Agreed! It was really disgusting how everyone immediately turned the news of his passing into political posts designed to trash the entire city of San Francisco, when it was obviously too soon for anyone to know the full story behind his unfortunate death.

I hope this news brings his family and friends some closure.

weston··on Red Flags I Saw While Doing 60 Technical Interviews in 30 Days
You’re right, the author isn’t just complaining about the exploding offer, but the high-pressure boiler room sales tactics. It just reeks of desperation, good for him for knowing his worth and walking away.
weston··on Losing bonds sports fans
Often, sports helps build civic pride in one’s hometown, and it allows a town’s citizens to have a common ground to bond over.
weston··on Reddit's GameStop, AMC surge is the new Occupy movement
I take it you haven't seen the posts on WSB like this one: https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/l6omry/an_o...
weston··on Discord bans r/WallStreetBets server, subreddit went private for a while
My guess is this means the mods will probably create a minimum Reddit karma amount required to post and/or comment. The goal to cut down on spam and bots.

So, new people can’t join in and immediately start trying to pump up random stocks.

WSB is getting flooded right now, so the mods are building in some auto-moderator things to get a handle on the subreddit.

weston··on Discord bans r/WallStreetBets server, subreddit went private for a while
r/wallstreetbets

Edit: that seems to be private now too?

weston··on How Texas Can Become the Next Silicon Valley
Actual lol at that description! Probably the most accurate description of the valley I've ever read.
weston··on How Texas Can Become the Next Silicon Valley
As a native Texan, I’m cautiously optimistic. All of these articles are about established unicorn tech firms moving. It’d be far more of an interesting trend if Austin had a surge in brand new early stage startups that became unicorn companies, and that were built in Austin from day 1.

But, I guess the new startups will follow after more big firms relocate, as some devs will eventually leave to work on their own projects.

weston··on ByteDance investors value TikTok at $50B in takeover bid
I believe the article originally posted is referring to TikTok’s valuation as a standalone product, should it be spun off. Whereas the link you posted is about the valuation of parent company ByteDance.
weston··on I deleted my Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram accounts, and felt great since
I think OP is deleting WhatsApp because Facebook is the parent company. But I agree, WhatsApp is not a social network site but a messaging tool.
weston··on The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age
One example is how the police are far more likely to shoot and kill unarmed people of color in the US[1].

Another example is how people of color in the US are far more likely to be incarcerated than white people are, especially for non-violent offenses.[2]

There's a reason the George Floyd protests have been so intense: His death was no isolated incident, but a pattern of continuing discrimination against people of color in America by those who control the power structures.

Sources:

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/protests-sprea...

[2] https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/color-of-just...

weston··on The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age
There’s no such thing as anti-white racism. Racism is prejudice or discrimination backed by institutional, structural power.

Therefore, a black person prejudiced against white people (as an example) is meaningless because black Americans have historically had very little power in the United States.

Racism by white americans has historically been backed up by the power of every institution in the United States, which often has meant state-sponsored violence against people of color.

weston··on The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age
You’re making the incorrect assumption that racists are arguing in good faith and are willing to change their minds after a well thought out intellectual, level-headed discussion. But history has shown us this almost never happens. The majority of them are basing their hatred on emotion and not rationality.

Instead, racists use their platforms to intimidate at-risk minority groups and intimidate them into silence. White supremacists are actively trying to silence those they disagree with, often with violence, not trying to have an intellectually honest and open discussion.

Read about Karl Popper and The Paradox of Tolerance.

weston··on Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”
It should be noted that the police arrested a journalist from CNN faster than they arrested the guilty officer.
weston··on Shopify Goes Digital by Default
Only if they want to end up like Yahoo. Taking away a benefit, be it free cokes or working from home, likely would cause a huge exodus of engineers.
weston··on Launch HN: Belvo (YC W20) – Financial Data API Platform for Latin America
Great to see more startups coming from Mexico and greater LATAM!
weston··on Ask HN: Why aren't there many credible online bachelors programs?
I didn’t see it mentioned yet, but Oregon State has been running an online Post-Bacc in Computer Science for the past several years. They also just started doing a standard bachelor’s program 100% online for CS.
weston··on Amazon Dating: The Future of Dating
Apparently this parody site is using real people as I know one of the people listed on here. Very strange to see that.
weston··on Away’s former CEO is returning as its co-chief
Sadly, this seems to be common with many startups in terms of treating the support + success team like garbage. Which is so short sighted because they tend to be the teams that many customers have their only interactions with at the company.
weston··on No Thank You, Mr. Pecker
It’s amazing how many people in Trump’s inner circle love quoting mob movies, calling people “rats” and “stoolies” but can’t seem to get down even the basics of being a half-decent criminal. I mean, Roger Stone literally told people to lie to Congress via an email.

One can quote mob movies all day but that doesn’t make them a smart criminal.

weston··on $100M Was Once Big Money for a Startup. Now, It’s Common
You could always hire remotely, which means zero in office costs.
weston··on Google should just pay students to learn at coding bootcamps
OP here: That's an even better idea! Good idea!
weston··on Show HN: Rejection Conditioner for YC Applications
Incredible story, thanks!
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