About
Kristopher Sandoval is a Product Marketing leader with 10+ years driving go-to-market strategy from ideation to execution. He has proven success accelerating adoption and consumer growth across a variety of products, including UGC, AI/ML, SaaS, and DevOps. He has scaled platforms to 2.4B monthly pageviews, 249M users, and $190M+ ARR through content-led marketing, technical evangelism, and cross-functional enablement.
Experience
Head of Operations
August 2024 - Present
DeveloperFirst.io
I co-founded DeveloperFirst.io, a boutique agency helping developer-focused companies bring their products to market with story-driven marketing and technical evangelism. Along the way, I launched Pepper, a Retrieval-Augmented Generation platform that transformed how teams scale developer relations and marketing. Across 100+ clients in SaaS, AI/ML, and biomedical tech, I’ve delivered measurable impact - +419% organic traffic growth, +87% developer engagement lift, 63% reduction in lead response time, and +147% MQL-to-SQL conversion.
Technical Evangelist
March 2015 - Present
Nordic APIs
As lead Technical Evangelist and community architect, I helped grow developer traffic past half a million monthly pageviews while building product and brand authority in AI/ML, DevOps, CI/CD, and API security. I’ve authored more than 500 pieces of content - from blog posts and books to deep dives and conference talks - creating thought leadership across multiple channels. My work pushed forward research and community engagement in APIs and web technologies, positioning Nordic APIs as a go-to authority in this space.
Global Marketing and Events Manager
March 2024 - March 2025
thatgamecompany
I managed a 170-person cross-functional team spanning product marketing, engineering, finance, legal, and revenue operations to launch SkyFest, an industry-first hybrid experience that blended digital activations, in-game community, and global in-person events. The campaign engaged over 1.3 million players and drove annual revenue to $128M, with standout growth across Asian markets. Alongside the product and experiential work, I secured national media coverage in outlets like The Sun, Sports Illustrated, and Pocket Tactics, reaching more than 236 million unique monthly viewers. Key outcomes included $128M ARR, +89 NPS, and lasting global community impact.
Director of Programming
April 2022 - March 2024
thatgamecompany
I relaunched two legacy experiential brands, LeakyCon and BroadwayCon, in the wake of COVID-19 and introduced AI/ML-powered marketing automation and consumer segmentation to boost ticket sales by 56% year over year. These efforts generated more than $10M in additional ARR through sharper messaging and positioning. By leveraging brand and partner activations, I also secured national media coverage in outlets such as CBS, The New York Times, Variety, and People Magazine. Key outcomes included $10M in ARR growth, a 56% increase in ticket sales, and widespread media visibility.
Director of Community Development
January 2021 - December 2021
Fandom
At Fandom, I built and led a 32-person team of product marketing and development specialists to launch the Unified Community Platform, a next-generation engagement hub that reached 2.4B monthly pageviews across 249M users and 639M sessions. I also oversaw a complete overhaul of Fandom’s marketing data systems, bringing 350K properties into compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and COPPA in under 90 days. Beyond platform growth, I developed Fandom’s developer tooling portfolio to drive adoption and retention, created an integrated sales enablement function to strengthen market positioning, and managed all community beta testing and feedback loops. These efforts drove $190M+ in ARR and positioned Fandom as a global leader in fan engagement.
Director of Asian Media (Anime)
February 2019 - January 2021
Fandom
I built and led a first-of-its-kind 12-person team focused on the Asian Media segment of the US entertainment market. To support growth, I created specialized tools including web-based Manga viewing, live content translation systems, and integrated audio streaming, scaling the vertical to 200M monthly users. I also developed a $45M+ marketing portfolio with clients such as Nintendo, Viz Media, and Shueisha. Additionally, I launched the Fandomatic product in partnership with DanAds, leading partner and developer relations to establish an industry-first programmatic platform that helped drive ARR to over $190M. Key results included $190M+ ARR and more than 200M engaged consumers.
Partnership Analyst
July 2018 - February 2019
Amazon
I built a $58M+ B2C marketing portfolio with partners including Warner Bros., Apple, Disney, and Sony. To optimize impact, I developed behavioral segmentation tools in Python and PHP that enabled precise content targeting, improved marketing efficiency by 25%, and aligned product development with community sentiment. These efforts engaged more than 20M consumers and delivered $58M+ in ARR.
Content Manager
May 2013 - July 2018
Curse (Amazon)
I managed a $69M+ content marketing portfolio spanning more than 1,500 Gamepedia properties, driving growth to over 1.3M users. To support expansion, I built a Python-powered market segmentation and analytics tool that identified high-potential content categories and informed strategic development. I also represented the brand at major industry events such as Tokyo Game Show, E3, IndieCade, and GDC, strengthening visibility and community alignment. These efforts delivered $69M+ in ARR and positioned the platform for long-term growth.
Education
Master of Business Administration
2019 - 2020
Western Governors University
Focused on strategic management, operations, and data-driven decision-making to support business growth and leadership development.
Bachelor of Science, Information Technology
2014 - 2019
Western Governors University
Emphasized systems design, data management, and applied technology to support software development and business innovation.
Let’s Work Together
Interested in working together? Drop me a line!