A Cowsay developer creates and maintains the Cowsay program, a fun, lightweight software utility that generates ASCII pictures of a cow with a message in a speech bubble. The developer writes code that enables the user to input text, and then converts this text into a unique, cow-themed ASCII art. They also ensure the program runs smoothly, troubleshoot any issues, and implement updates or improvements. Additionally, they may expand the program to feature other ASCII animals or objects. Their work is typically done in Perl or other similar programming languages, and requires a strong understanding of ASCII art principles.