Job Openings at Wikimedia Foundation

Summary

• Love Wikipedia and its sibling projects? The Wikimedia Foundation is an inclusive employer, and we are looking for experienced engineering management to join our team, reporting to engineering leadership in Technology and Product Engineering.
• We’re committed to making knowledge available to everyone globally. This is an opportunity to do good while improving what we think is the best place on the internet.
• You know how to build a sustainable culture, showing empathy for users and employees, a collaborative mindset, and data-informed systems thinking.
• You are passionate about growing people, helping software engineers achieve their career goals while also creating amazing opportunities for them to flourish and improve technically.
• In this role, you will work in a distributed remote environment, where we value teamwork and a consensus-oriented approach as we build fully open source software
• You are a proactive and collaborative partner with product management, design, quality & test engineering, technical program management, and community relations.
• You will manage highly skilled engineers, who ship quality software used by over a billion users, empowering them to do their best work.
• Travel is not currently required due to the pandemic. During normal non-pandemic times, some travel is expected, usually 3-4 times per year.

You Are Responsible For

• Fostering a supportive team environment, ensuring diverse voices are heard
• Guiding team members with structured development techniques
• Coaching engineers in the art and science of software engineering and evolvable software architecture
• Participating in hiring considerate of diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Partnering with peers on cross-team delivery and radiating organizational updates
• Facilitating product technical strategy and roadmap setting with software engineers and technical product management
• Supervising budget and staffing

Skills and Experience

• BS/MS/Ph.D in Computer Science or other relevant technical field or the equivalent in work experience
• Expertise in consumer-facing internet technology for large and diverse audiences
• History of developing high productivity engineering teams

Qualities that are important to us:

• A desire to make meaningful contributions to knowledge equity, free culture, and open access
• Clear communication in both synchronous and asynchronous channels

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

• Fluency in one or more regional languages of Africa or Asia
• Experience with service based and streaming architectures
• Familiarity with Wikipedia / wikitext / markdown editing or content management systems (e.g., MediaWiki, Drupal, WordPress).
• We grow and care for MediaWiki and Wikimedia specific services. MediaWiki is an open source, PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript web application that powers Wikipedia and other Wikimedia Foundation websites.
• It has been incrementally developed for over 15 years to become a richly featured wiki engine and the basis for hundreds of extensions and skins, and has a vibrant volunteer community. Our services utilize a number of technologies.

The following teams are actively seeking candidates:

• Abstract Wikipedia: We are building a new programming system, Wikifunctions, where a community will be able to write code functions in a multilingual way with multiple programming languages (Python and JavaScript to start). This will be a production grade function-as-a-service platform for Wikimedia volunteers to utilize as we work toward the larger initiative of symbolically generating natural language in all of Wikimedia's supported languages for Wikipedia with use of Wikidata Lexemes and Wikifunctions entries.
• Campaigns: Our vibrant global network of Wikimedia organizers run content campaigns such as Wiki Loves Monuments, Art + Feminism, Wiki Loves Human Rights, and Wikimedia Asian Month that focus on new and experienced contributors, and are a key mechanism of content development on Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, and other Wikimedia projects. Our work aims to improve the experience for campaign organizers and campaign participants, so they can more effectively take part in the Wikimedia movement.
• Platform: The Platform Engineering Team is responsible for the maintenance and development of the MediaWiki and Wikimedia specific services that allow our software to scale to serve millions of users.

U.S. Benefits & Perks

• Fully paid medical, dental and vision coverage for employees and their eligible families (yes, fully paid premiums!)
• The Wellness Program provides reimbursement for mind, body and soul activities such as fitness memberships, baby sitting, continuing education and much more
• The 401(k) retirement plan offers matched contributions at 4% of annual salary
• Flexible and generous time off - vacation, sick and volunteer days, plus 22 paid holidays - including the last week of the year.
• Family friendly! 100% paid new parent leave for seven weeks plus an additional five weeks for pregnancy, flexible options to phase back in after leave, fully equipped lactation room.
• For those emergency moments - long and short term disability, life insurance (2x salary) and an employee assistance program
• Pre-tax savings plans for health care, child care, elder care, public transportation and parking expenses
• Telecommuting and flexible work schedules available
• Appropriate fuel for thinking and coding (aka, a pantry full of treats) and monthly massages to help staff relax
• Paid travel to Wikimedia Foundation events all around the world!
• Equipment including a laptop, monitor, plus a one-time stipend to cover any additional needs to make sure you have the best work experience
• Great colleagues - diverse staff and contractors speaking dozens of languages from around the world, fantastic intellectual discourse, mission-driven and intensely passionate people.

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Summary

• The Wikimedia Foundation is looking for a Communications Specialist who is excited to elevate the voices and stories of the free knowledge movement through digital communications.
• This is a highly collaborative role, in which you will help shape and execute digital strategies to  connect with global audiences; manage the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia social media channels; develop digital content, including social media, web, blog, email, and campaign copy; and deliver metrics that inform decisions.
• You will develop digital content that engages a wide range of audiences and reflects the Foundation’s values, voice, and tone. You will demonstrate a consistent commitment to promoting diversity and equity through our digital channels. You must possess the judgment and writing skills to be one of the public voices of the Foundation online.

The ideal candidate is:

• A strategic and creative storyteller with experience in developing and executing impactful digital communications strategies, as well an in-depth knowledge of social media platforms, best practices, and trends.
• A motivated and organized self-starter with the ability to consistently produce high-quality work, manage multiple tasks, and execute under deadlines, occasionally during crisis communications situations.
• A detail-oriented facilitator who is able to produce clear and engaging content working across a variety of subject matters.   
• An adept and intuitive  communicator with the ability to write in a range of voices and styles for a variety of projects with diverse audiences.
• A results-driven achiever with the ability to gather and communicate key insights and a strong understanding of digital media metrics and tools.
• A conscientious and globally-minded professional interested in identifying and elevating stories that attract a global audience and showcase the global nature of our movement.
• A thoughtful team player who is eager to collaborate and committed to advancing diversity, equity, and belonging in all their work.

You Are Responsible For

• Shaping and executing digital communications strategies, including:
• Advising and advancing the strategy for the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia social media channels, as well as working as the primary copywriter for daily and campaign-specific content
• Overseeing a social media content calendar: scheduling posts about key news articles, events, announcements, campaigns, interesting facts, and more
• Collaborating with department colleagues to develop digital campaigns that increase global awareness of Wikimedia projects and our social good mission
• Regularly monitoring and maintaining social media channels: moderating comments and messages, alerting staff to notable situations, sharing relevant content, and engaging with followers
• Proactively identifying strategic opportunities to engage across our digital channels, helping to connect the Foundation and Wikipedia to timely global events and relevant causes
• Supporting the development of staff as online thought leaders by advancing their understanding of social platforms and identifying key moments for staff to contribute online
• Creating training presentations and materials, toolkits, and guides for Wikimedia community groups and members to strengthen their social media brands and practices
• Regularly organizing and sharing metrics, data, and research reports to glean insights and inform strategy
• Working with the marketing team to advance strategies for paid social media promotions
• Writing other digital content, including web copy, blog posts, and emails
• Assisting with rapid response and crisis management to protect our brand reputation and help teams understand how relevant issues are being discussed on social media

Skills and Experience

• Minimum of two years of digital communications experience, with an emphasis on social media copywriting and account maintenance
• Experience with, passion for, and knowledge of social media and other digital communications platforms, audiences, and engagement strategies, as well as measurement tools and metrics
• Strong verbal and written communication, editing, and interpersonal skills
• Strong organizational skills and experience managing multiple projects at once, with an interest in both independent and collaborative work
• Intellectual curiosity, flexibility, and a desire to tackle challenging problems
• The ability to work on a team with diverse demographic and cultural characteristics, as well as the flexibility to virtually meet with people in multiple time zones

Qualities that are important to us:

• Resilience - we work on new and interesting problems in public and collaborative ways
• Being open, curious, and inquiring in our work
• Internal motivation and high standards
• Working together for outcomes, and being willing to let go to scale or change course
• Sharing a culture of constructive criticism and respect

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

• The ability to speak other languages, experience living or working outside the United States, or past work on global digital campaigns
• Experience in graphic design programs such as Figma
• Experience using WordPress
• Involvement or experience within Wikimedia communities and/or editing the Wikimedia projects
• Fluency or familiarity with languages in addition to English
• BA/BS or MA/MS

U.S. Benefits & Perks

• Fully paid medical, dental and vision coverage for employees and their eligible families (yes, fully paid premiums!)
• The Wellness Program provides reimbursement for mind, body and soul activities such as fitness memberships, baby sitting, continuing education and much more
• The 401(k) retirement plan offers matched contributions at 4% of annual salary
• Flexible and generous time off - vacation, sick and volunteer days, plus 22 paid holidays - including the last week of the year.
• Family friendly! 100% paid new parent leave for seven weeks plus an additional five weeks for pregnancy, flexible options to phase back in after leave, fully equipped lactation room.
• For those emergency moments - long and short term disability, life insurance (2x salary) and an employee assistance program
• Pre-tax savings plans for health care, child care, elder care, public transportation and parking expenses
• Telecommuting and flexible work schedules available
• Appropriate fuel for thinking and coding (aka, a pantry full of treats) and monthly massages to help staff relax
• Paid travel to Wikimedia Foundation events all around the world!
• Equipment including a laptop, monitor, plus a one-time stipend to cover any additional needs to make sure you have the best work experience
• Great colleagues - diverse staff and contractors speaking dozens of languages from around the world, fantastic intellectual discourse, mission-driven and intensely passionate people.