After BigQuery and Snowflake: What comes next? (Felipe’s version)
I’m Felipe Hoffa — a Developer Advocate who became a key player in the meteoric rise of BigQuery and Snowflake. Now on a break, I reflect on how we got here and what comes next.
My career in one chart
This chart from DB-Engines tells a fascinating story. DB-Engines ranks database systems by their popularity, combining factors like technical discussions, job postings, and social media mentions. While traditional databases like Oracle and MySQL have long dominated the top spots, the real story lies in the dramatic rise of cloud-native platforms.
When I joined BigQuery in 2013, it wasn’t even tracked by DB-Engines yet. The platform was so new that many developers weren’t sure what to make of a fully-managed, serverless data warehouse. Over seven years, I worked to change that perception, helping BigQuery grow from an experimental Google service to a cornerstone of modern data architecture.
In 2020, I made a pivotal move to Snowflake, joining shortly before their historic IPO. The timing was perfect — Snowflake was about to become one of tech’s biggest success stories, and I had the opportunity to help shape its narrative among builders and developers. The platform’s growth curve tells the story: what had taken BigQuery seven years to achieve, Snowflake surpassed it and crossed the boundaries to become one of the top 10 databases in the world.
The annotations show my journey with both platforms, but they also represent a fundamental shift in how companies approach data. I was fortunate to be at the forefront of this transformation, advocating for technologies that would reshape the industry.
Background
Back in 2010, I was a Software Engineer on a break. Frustrated with the enterprise world in Chile, I decided to take a year off work to figure out what to do with my life. That’s when Google called, and my planned break was cut short with a new life in San Francisco as a Google Software Engineer in 2011. Two years later — when it was time to find a new project — an unforgettable googler asked me, “Would you like to be BigQuery’s Developer Advocate?” I had never touched BigQuery, but saying yes to that question changed my life.
What’s a Developer Advocate?
For me, a “Developer Advocate” is a “Software Engineer with a License to Speak”. Let me explain: As a Software Engineer, I’m able to speak the same language as our users, and my goal is to get their attention, listen to them, and help them understand and make the best of our platforms.
My toolbox includes:
- Traveling around the world to present at conferences and meet customers.
- Writing blog posts with engaging stories that promote features, use cases, and spark curiosity to try the same tools I used.
- Making fun videos and shows.
- Using social media to be part of the larger conversation and the moment (beyond Twitter and LinkedIn, I also built and grew the /r/bigquery and /r/snowflake subreddits).
- Being a product expert (by answering questions on Stack Overflow I became BigQuery’s #2 top expert of all time, and Snowflake’s #3 top expert of all time).
- Listening to feedback, and delivering user insights inside the company to shape our offerings and channels.
Visualizing impact
How /r/bigquery and /r/snowflake grew on reddit under my stewardship:
How the Stack Overflow tags for BigQuery and Snowflake grew under my stewardship:
Proving myself as one of the biggest BigQuery and Snowflake experts of all time on Stack Overflow:
A Brief Intermission: What Have I Done During My Break?
Taking a break hasn’t meant staying still. I’ve been:
- Traveling — Exploring new places, meeting people, and gathering fresh perspectives
- Engaging with the Community — Attending meetups and hackathons, connecting with developers, and staying involved in tech conversations. Being an attendee has brought me new perspectives that I didn’t get as a frequent speaker
- Civic Engagement — I became a U.S. citizen, I went canvassing for the elections, I did my jury duty, and I voted
- And a lot more…
Personal growth
There’s also a more personal story of growth. In 2020, I discovered that I have ADHD, a realization that finally helped me understand how to get the best out of myself. In 2021, I embarked on a journey of self-kindness, which led me to lose 40 pounds (~20 kg) in 2023. In 2024 I successfully maintained this weight loss. Beyond the physical transformation, I’ve focused on shifting my mindset, deepening my personal development, and redefining what happiness looks like. Every day, I continue learning and growing, equipping myself with the tools to become the person the future needs me to be.
What I’m looking for next
As in 2010, I’m again on a break. It’s hard to know what I want next. I never planned to move to the U.S. or to join Google. I didn’t plan to be BigQuery’s Developer Advocate either. When Snowflake first called in 2020, I replied “I see no compelling reason to join”. Then a few months later, I surprised myself by doing exactly that. The pattern here is that I’ve never been able to predict the great opportunities ahead, but I’ve been fortunate to be noticed by amazing people who have pulled me to incredible heights.
I keep wondering — what will be the next pull into an incredible new story? I’ve spoken with many companies and startups, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. As with Snowflake, I might be tempted to say “no” at first. If I do that to you, please don’t be offended — sometimes I’m silly like that.
Rather than a checklist of what my next job must be, here’s what I valued from my time at Google and Snowflake:
- I love having an office full of smart colleagues. Working remotely from home isn’t as compelling as an office that sets clear boundaries between work and home. If I joined a startup with no offices, I would probably ask to expense a coworking space.
- I love living in San Francisco. I’m willing to relocate, but probably a lot of companies consider having me in SF a strategic advantage.
- I love traveling. Google and Snowflake took me around the world to meet developers, customers, and prospects. I’d love to have more of these opportunities.
- I love creative freedom. Google and Snowflake let me craft my own narrative and chase what I thought would be interesting to our users. Surprisingly, I had more creative freedom at Google than at Snowflake — contrary to what many might expect from a larger company. But we can discuss that over lunch. :)
- I love managers and companies that understand that everyone has different strengths. I have a particular set of strengths that I’m proud of, but also areas I don’t excel at. At Google, I had 13 managers over the years, and 4 more at Snowflake. The best ones understood that success comes from aligning people with their strengths, rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach. That understanding makes all the difference in both impact and job satisfaction.
- I love community — even while on break I love showing up to meetups and making friends with the tech community
- I love data. Nothing sparks my curiosity more than understanding the world through data. This has been at the core of my tech journey — I learn new tools and methods to analyze the world, and then I share what I’ve discovered. So far, this passion has drawn attention to my work, my stories, and what I have to say.
- I love AI. Every day I use ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, and Gemini — they are changing everything around us, and there’s no choice but to be part of this journey.
What can I do for you
Maybe you are wondering: Is this all true?
I’m lucky to have an incredibly public career. Some of it you can’t see (like customer meetings, or internal feedback delivered to shape our products and messaging)— but a lot is out in the world. You can ask people who have witnessed this story, and also the AI bots that have digested my public work.
Try asking your favorite chatbot “Who is BigQuery’s most famous Developer Advocate”, or questions like “Why would Felipe Hoffa be a great Developer Advocate for <insert name of your company>?”. These are the results I got:
In Summary
My journey has been shaped by saying “yes” to unexpected opportunities and being part of transformative stories in data. From helping BigQuery grow from an experimental service to an industry standard, to joining Snowflake right before its historic IPO, I’ve been fortunate to advocate for technologies that changed how the world uses data.
Now, as AI reshapes our world, I’m looking for my next opportunity to make an impact. If history has taught me anything, I might hesitate at first — but I look forward to working with brilliant people, tackling meaningful challenges, and sharing insights that inspire others.
If you see a role where my creativity and experience in building communities, explaining complex technologies, and bringing developers and products together could make a difference, let’s talk. You can find me on LinkedIn, or let’s meet in person if you’re around San Francisco.
“I don’t know what’s next — but if history repeats itself, it’ll be unexpected, impactful, and shaped by the people I meet along the way.”
