Saif Ali Shaik
Founding Developer Advocate
docs · DX · CLIs · agent skills · ecosystem
Author for freeCodeCamp.org · free-time · newly joinedTwo-time founding developer advocate and developer tools builder with 7+ years of experience shipping CLIs, plugins, API workflows, documentation systems, and automation for developers.
Experience
Founding Developer Advocate
Jul 2024 - PresentScalekit · Bengaluru
- Own docs.scalekit.com end-to-end (Astro Starlight + Netlify): architecture, content, quickstarts, UX copy, onboarding, and analytics via PostHog.
- Run a DX flywheel with context engineering: support signal and product-repo drift keep docs and tooling current without waiting on one-off fire drills.
- Ship developer tools: Scalekit CLI, MCP server tooling, and AI agent plugins for Claude Code, Cursor, and Copilot.
- Maintain public agent skills and an internal skillkit so engineers and coding agents integrate Scalekit consistently (skills).
- Consult engineering on taxonomy, terminology, and API interfaces so the product stays teachable.
- Build ecosystem presence (Astro, xmcp, LiteLLM, FastMCP, FastRouter, Apify, Chargebee, Cursor Directory, LiveKit, Vapi). See full list.
Author
Present · free time freeCodeCamp.org
· volunteer publication writing
- Recently joined as an author for freeCodeCamp.org, writing technical tutorials and developer education in free time, separate from full-time DevRel work.
- First freeCodeCamp pieces are in progress; the public author page will replace the publication home link once articles ship. Other public writing includes JavaScript in Plain English.
Developer Relations (Freelance)
Jan 2024 - May 2024Portkey · Bengaluru · Hybrid
- First developer advocate in a consulting capacity. Focused on the discovery problem with education-first content on AI gateways and small sample apps.
- Authored and organized material in the Portkey cookbook and related technical writing for AI Gateway adoption.
- Portkey has since been acquired by Palo Alto Networks.
Senior Developer Advocate
Apr 2023 - Jul 2024Freshworks · Bengaluru
- Architected a modular approach for Global Apps, enabling developers to author code once and deploy across multiple Freshworks ecosystem products.
- Designed and implemented modular code interfaces in JavaScript to enable developers to test locally and deploy seamlessly to production.
- Coordinated with technical writing, engineering, design, and marketing to unify developer documentation and streamline platform UX on developers.freshworks.com.
- Published technical insights and practical examples through blog posts, driving adoption of genAI libraries in JavaScript projects.
Senior Developer Advocate
Apr 2021 - Apr 2023Freshworks · Bengaluru
- Designed and launched a new serverless event for Freshworks Developers, simplifying app lifecycle management based on insights from 8 user research interviews.
- Upgraded Freshworks SDK with new UX features to CLI, ensuring 90%+ code coverage. Released to the community via Jenkins CI as v8.0.
- Built integrations between Orbit, Discourse, Calendly, and internal ticketing systems to measure developer engagement and monthly active developers.
- Hired and mentored 3 new advocates. Set up an internal advocacy program with a translation layer to product and engineering teams.
- Devised self-serve certification programs, certifying 40 developers in 6 weeks. Reduced 35 support tickets monthly by automating ticket routing across 3 business units.
Founding Developer Advocate
Jan 2019 - Apr 2021Freshworks · Chennai
- Established community.freshworks.dev, growing organically to 3,500+ developers in 3 years.
- Attracted attention to Freshworks' OSS story via Hacktoberfest: 25 contributors in 2019, 64 in 2020, 43 PRs closed.
- Reimagined sample app discovery, revising 35+ apps. Authored 18 tutorials and 10 Wiki articles to scale 1-to-many enablement.
- Dedicated 60 minutes daily to the community, closing 35+ topics monthly. Migrated top 15 apps from Freshsales Classic to Suite with critical migration guides.
- Conducted internal hackathons (Appathons) engaging 45+ teams each time to build and publish apps to Freshworks Marketplace.
Student Experience Intern
Sep 2018 - Dec 2018Udacity · New Delhi
- Led the Google India Scholars Community for 1,000+ students, achieving a 50% graduation rate through scalable event strategies and data metrics.
- Championed a scalable mentorship initiative, pairing students with industry professionals.
Involvement
Creator of Hacksmith CLI
Sep 2025 - Nov 2025Scalekit
- Accelerated engineering productivity by automating complex setup and integration tasks through guided workflows called blueprints.
- Evolved the blueprint concept into plugins for Claude Code, Cursor, and Copilot CLIs.
- Published as open-source on npm. Won 3rd place at the You.com Agentic Hackathon 2025.
Lead, Google Developer Student Clubs
Aug 2017 - Dec 2018Sathyabama University · Chennai
- Trained 550+ students in Android Studio through hands-on workshops.
- Enabled the college to be selected as one of 185 clubs from 2,000+ student clubs across India.
Student Partner
Aug 2017 - Dec 2018Microsoft
- Developed session materials and coordinated campus workshops focused on emerging software platforms.
Dell Campassador
Oct 2017 - Jun 2018Dell
- Ranked All India Top #4 across all competing colleges in the Dell Campus Ambassador program.
Education
Bachelor of Engineering: Computer Science
Sathyabama Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai · 2015 - 2019 · Grade: 85%
Accomplishments
- Distinguished Alumni Awardee (2023), Sathyabama University
- Certificate of Achievement for Outstanding Team Collaboration & Agility through accountability with ownership, Freshworks
- Star of Excellence Awardee (2015-2019), Sathyabama University
- Dell Campus Ambassador Program, All India Rank #4
Skills
JavaScriptNode.jsTypeScriptPythonBuilding CLIsAstroAuth & SSOAPI DocumentationClaude Code PluginsDeveloper ToolsGitBunYarnPostHog