Meet Joel Olawanle
Joel Olawanle

About Me

I'm a Software Engineer and Developer Advocate with 5+ years of experience building products, driving developer adoption, and creating technical education for PaaS, SaaS, and open-source ecosystems.

Currently, I'm at Kinsta/Sevalla, where I drive developer adoption through hands-on guides, real-world demos, and open-source projects. I own documentation pipelines, technical marketing.

I build and document real-world API integrations, automation workflows, and developer tools. I've authored hundreds of technical guides used by developers across Kinsta, freeCodeCamp, Hygraph, CSS-Tricks, and similar platforms.

Beyond building, I'm an active speaker, YouTube creator, community builder, and mentor. I've spoken at OSCAFest and DevFest events, lead two Open Source Community Africa chapters, and create technical video tutorials that help developers level up.

Why companies choose me

Builder Perspective

As a Software Engineer building Spidra and NGN Market, I understand the full developer lifecycle, from building APIs to onboarding users.

Proven Track Record

At Kinsta, I've driven developer adoption through guides, demos, and open-source projects, while owning documentation pipelines, technical marketing, and Sevalla's entire public developer presence.

End-to-End Developer Enablement

I don't just create content. I build complete developer experiences: tutorials, demos, API documentation, open-source starter projects, and onboarding flows that reduce time-to-value.

Community Influence

Having built Open Source Community Africa chapters from scratch, I understand how to engage developer communities and position your brand as a thought leader in the space.

Work Experience

A timeline of my professional journey across software engineering, developer advocacy, and technical education.

Co-Founder

Ongoing

Spidra.io / NGN Market · Remote

Leading marketing efforts, co-building frontend, backend, documentation, and developer onboarding for Spidra and NGN Market. Iterating on products using direct user feedback.

Technical Writer & Editor

Feb 2023 – Present

Kinsta/Sevalla · Full Time, Remote

Drive developer adoption through hands-on guides, demos, and open-source projects. Own documentation, changelogs, and technical marketing. Serve as technical liaison between developers, support, and engineering. Built some of Sevalla's public developer presence from scratch.

Senior Technical Writer

Dec 2022 – Present

Hackmamba AS · Contract, Remote

Produce developer-focused documentation and integration guides for Hygraph, Cloudinary, and Appwrite. Lead editorial reviews and mentor junior writers to maintain technical accuracy.

Technical Writer

June 2021 – Present

Hygraph · Contract, Remote

Authored a complete GraphQL learning hub serving as a beginner-to-advanced onboarding path. Write long-form tutorials, API guides, and integration content covering schema design and headless CMS workflows.

Technical Writer

June 2022 – Dec 2024

freeCodeCamp · Part Time, Remote

Authored high-impact technical articles on JavaScript, data structures, and software concepts. Became the 2nd most-read author in 2023, reaching 700k+ monthly readers at peak.

Course Author

June 2022 – Dec 2022

Educative.io · Contract, Remote

Wrote and published a 15-hour interactive course "React and GraphQL: Build an E-commerce App with Hygraph", taken by thousands of learners worldwide.

Community & Leadership

Building developer communities and mentoring the next generation of engineers.

OSCA Chapter Lead

June 2024 – Present

Founded and grew two Open Source Community Africa chapters to 100+ active members. Organized 11+ workshops and mentored contributors into GSOD and Outreachy.

Frontend Lead & Trainer

Mar 2022 – Present

Lead weekly in-person training sessions on frontend development at Inventors Tech Community. Helped expand the community to multiple institutions.

GDSC Core Team

Jan 2022 – Present

Support planning and execution of campus tech events. Lead sessions on frontend development and open source. Mentor peers on contributing to developer communities.

Ready to grow your developer community?

I help companies drive developer adoption through technical content, demos, API education, and community engagement.