Since launching DEV Challenges this Spring, we're taking the next step to make them even better - by inviting the community to help judge!
Community members who participate as volunteer judges will not only help shape these challenges but also earn exclusive judge badges, creating a visible network of community members who contribute their technical expertise.
The volunteer judge role is designed to be flexible and low-commitment. When a challenge ends, judges will receive an email with a list of valid submissions. Those available can simply fill out a quick form with their top picks. We trust judges to self-select based on their expertise - participating only in challenges that align with their technical experience.
While final winner selections are made internally, the community's collective feedback will provide crucial insights in identifying outstanding submissions.
Did we mention you’ll get a badge each time you participate as a judge?
Volunteer DEV Judge Application
If you’re interested, here are some finer points:
- Judges cannot submit entries to challenges they're evaluating
- Judges will receive an email when submissions are ready for review
- Response window: 48 hours to submit picks via a form
- All judge feedback is confidential
- Final winner selections are made by the DEV team alongside sponsoring companies and additional guest judges (if applicable)
Application Process
- We’ll be accepting applications on a rolling basis
- You’ll know you qualified if you receive an email the next time we need help with judging
- Our ability to process and update the qualified judges list will depend on our volume of applications
- We anticipate this will be a competitive volunteer role, so please don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear from us! We are a tiny team and apologize in advance for not being able to respond to every single applicant.
If you’ve read this far, thank you! We hope introducing community involvement helps ensure challenges remain fair, high-quality, and valuable for everyone.
Ready to earn your first judge badge? Fill out our Volunteer DEV Judge Application!
Top comments (2)
Suppose a person submits an entry for a challenge. Automatically, they can't be chosen as a judge for that challenge. Is that correct?
@sarahokolo that's correct -- judge recommendations won't be considered if they have also submitted to the associated challenge!