Thanks for considering to the LeadDev Call for Proposals.
Our open CFPs can be found below with more details of the process, the support we provide and what topics we look for.
Hello Berlin!
We’re super excited to announce that LeadDev is returning to Berlin on 3–4 November 2025.
About LeadDev
LeadDev is an event aimed specifically at addressing the challenges faced by engineering leaders. If you're a Tech Lead, Engineering Manager, Staff Engineer, Head of Engineering or Director of Engineering - then this is the place for you. The event focuses on two things: how to give you the skills and knowledge to be the most effective in your job; and how you can supercharge the effectiveness of your team.
What is the story you want to tell that can help other engineering leaders?
What topics are we interested in?
The event is focused around three big themes: team, tech, and tools. We’ve detailed a bit about them below and remember, you can submit more than one idea!
- Team - Our team talks cover anything related to leadership, personal development, and anything that happens within the unit of your teams. Think about: the skills that you need to be an effective leader; how to maximise the impact and velocity of your teams; skills for growing people; creating inclusive and diverse environments; hiring and retention; adapting to new roles.
- Tech - Our tech talks cover anything you need to run an effective technical team in 2025. We love hearing case studies for our tech talks - real stories about what went right and what went wrong (which is always more interesting!). Think about: new languages, frameworks, technologies, scaling, architecture.
- Tools - Our tools talks cover anything related to the way your teams get work done. Think about: agile and other delivery methods; frameworks for things like code reviews and 1:1s; on call; observability; continuous integration; velocity and debugging productivity; maintaining a high performing team.
The speaker experience
Working with speakers is one of our favourite things about running LeadDev. We love to give you the opportunity to share your stories and knowledge with our audience - and we put a tonne of work in to help your content shine. Throughout the process, you’ll have the opportunity to work with our professional coach who’ll help you hone your presentation delivery, and our content team who’ll review your talk and help you sharpen it for our audience.
As a speaker for the event, we offer you:
- A free ticket to the conference
- A complimentary ticket to a LeadDev conference the following year
- 2 nights accommodation at the conference hotel
- Economy travel expenses if you need them
- Professional speaker coaching if requested
- Dedicated support from our team at all stages of your participation in the
Good luck
We hope that's given you all the information you need to submit a great proposal. We can't wait to read them!
Supported tickets
We believe that knowledge is for everyone and that the industry gets better by being more diverse and inclusive.
We also know that not everyone has access to the same opportunities.
For this reason, we set aside a number of free, supported tickets to make our conferences more accessible.
Links to applications
The scheme is open for all to apply to, and chosen applicants will receive the following:
- A free ticket to their nearest conference and all activities included in the ticket price (e.g. networking activities)
- Conference meals and drinks as provided to all attendees
- Access to our community Slack group
- A conference guide (optional) to be a friendly face at the event, helping to make sure you get the most out of your LeadDev experience and there to introduce you to other members of our community.
- Unfortunately we cannot cover travel, accommodation or incidental expenses around the conference attendance.
Who can apply for a supported ticket?
The program is designed to support a individuals in a range of circumstances to access the conference where a company cannot cover the cost of their ticket, including:
- individuals from marginalised and underrepresented groups in tech
- those facing economic or social hardship
- individuals re-entering the workplace after a gap, for example due to redundancy, parental or caring leave
Tickets will be awarded to people who can show that the knowledge gained will be useful for their ongoing careers. The conferences are designed for engineering leaders and tickets are reserved for folks at that level. You don’t need to currently be in a role - in fact if you are out of work or returning to the workplace after a gap we welcome your application - but you do need to have achieved the level of seniority for the conference to be relevant to you. Eg tech leads, engineering managers and above. We do not grant supported tickets to those still studying who have not yet entered the workplace as the content of the events is not yet relevant to them.
When will I hear back about my submission?
Submissions will be assessed by the conference organising team and all applicants will be notified by email within four weeks of the closing date. Supported tickets can only be given in a limited number and the organizers’ decision is final and cannot be appealed.
Any questions?
If you have any questions contact us via hello@leaddev.com
Full conference details including speaker lineup, location information, and our code of conduct can be found at https://leaddev.com/leaddev-new-york.
Who will you be writing for or speaking to?
Our audience consists of all senior engineering folk, from tech leads to VPs and senior ICs. They are consistently technical (across a very broad range of technologies and industries) with many line managing people in their organisations. It’s also important to note that some attendees have just been promoted, or are trying to figure out what skills they need to progress into a more technical role.
What does LeadDev offer?
If we choose your article for publication, we’ll offer all the support we can in the creation of your article. After a first draft has been handed in, it will be passed to our in-house editor who will work with you to ensure that your article is the best that it can be.
We also pay an honorarium of $250 to everyone who writes an article for our site.
What subject should you focus on?
- Team (anything related to people management, inclusive & diverse environments, hiring & retention, challenging issues etc.)
- Tech (anything related to new languages, frameworks & technologies, trends & changes, scaling, architecture etc.)
- Process (anything related to the way your team works, Agile & other delivery methods, maintaining a high-performing team etc.)
- Personal Development (anything related to improving leadership skills, maintaining your mental health, adapting to a new role etc.)
- StaffPlus (anything on big picture thinking, making the right technical decisions, or influencing at scale)
How our article review process works
We review all of the article proposals on a monthly basis. Article proposals will be reviewed the month after they have been submitted. Article proposals are reviewed during the first week of the month, and you’ll hear from the team during the second week of the month.
For example, if you submit an article proposal in February, we’ll review your submission during the first week of March. You’ll then find out if your proposal has been selected for publication during the second week of March.
If you haven’t heard back from us, please give us some time before reaching out to enquire about the status of your article proposal - we might just be running a little late! If it has been 4 or more weeks, feel free to get in touch with a member of the team to enquire about the status of your submission :)
If your article has been selected, we’ll be in touch with the next steps and the timeline for you to write your article within (this tends to be 3-4 weeks).
If you have any questions about the article submission process, you can contact a member of the team at hello@leaddev.com