Kourtney Meiss

About Me - Kourtney Meiss

Developer Advocate at Amazon for Devices

Hello! 👋 Currently, I'm a developer advocate at Amazon for Alexa +, Apps & Games. Prior to that I held similar roles at Box and TraceLink. I am passionate about creating exceptional developer experiences.

📍 Based out of Austin, TX

Outside of work I love:
📚 Reading
🌱 Houseplants
📖 Junk journaling
☕ Coffee shops
🧠 Playing trivia every week with friends
🐕 Hanging with my dog, Leo

Speaking Engagements

Build an Agent Harness for Your React Native App

Chain React • July 29, 2026 • Portland, OR

📚 Past Speaking Engagements

July 2026

Keeping Up Without Burning Out: My AI Workflow for DevRel

DevRelCon NYC

The pace of AI development feels overwhelming. New tools, techniques, and paradigms emerge weekly. As someone driving AI adoption at Amazon while trying to stay current myself, I've developed a personal workflow and mindset that helps me keep up without burning out. In this lightning talk, I share my current toolbox, the questions I ask myself that help me level up, and how I decide when to use AI vs. do things myself to actually learn.

📊 Download Slides (PowerPoint)

2025

Performance First Thinking: Lessons from Vega OS

React Native London

Building React Native applications on hardware-constrained devices requires deliberate development choices from day one. We'll explore why we built a performance-optimized operating system designed specifically for Amazon devices (Vega OS), and the unique architecture that powers it. You'll learn from the real-world challenges we faced and solutions for building apps within low-memory environments. Whether you are building for mobile, web, or TVs, you'll walk away with practical optimization techniques you can apply to your own development.

📹 Watch Video

2025

Untangling DevRel: Using Network Graphs to Tell a Story

DevRelCon 2025

This session introduces a new framework, leveraging network graphs, to visualize DevRel’s impact. By harnessing the power of visual models, we can bridge the gap between DevRel’s complexity and leadership’s understanding.

📹 Watch Video Learn More

2019 & 2020

Getting Started with Box APIs

BoxWorks

An overview of Box APIs and making your first API call.

Books - 5 Star Reads