About the job
Timezone Preference: GMT-5 to GMT+1
Join Us as a Senior Software Engineer in Security & Privacy
The Wikimedia Foundation seeks a talented Senior Software Engineer to enhance our Product Safety and Integrity team. In this pivotal role, you will design and implement innovative security features that protect Wikipedia and our broader projects. Collaborating closely with fellow engineers and product managers, you'll work on building solutions that ensure our platform remains resilient against threats, thereby safeguarding the experience of thousands of users daily.
As an experienced software engineer, you have a solid track record in developing security features for large-scale systems. You appreciate the critical roles of testing and documentation, and you are well-versed in the common challenges associated with creating secure web applications. Your commitment to the Wikimedia mission drives you as you contribute to a culture of transparency and collaboration.
In this role, you will primarily focus on our MediaWiki platform, which serves as the backbone for Wikipedia. As one of the top ten websites globally, we face stringent performance expectations while addressing evolving security challenges. You will tackle modern authentication technologies, identify and mitigate bot-related platform abuse, and spearhead enhancements to our security architecture to thwart emerging threats.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design, develop, and implement security features with a strong focus on user safety and security.
- Collaborate with various engineering teams to ensure they adopt secure architectural and implementation practices.
- Lead by example in code reviews, decision-making, and foster a culture of transparency, empathy, and teamwork.
- Oversee the development, review, and deployment of security features created by both the Foundation and the community.
- Conduct comprehensive internal and external security and privacy audits.
- Manage maintenance tasks and address technical debt in security and privacy-sensitive components.
- Provide support during application security and privacy incidents.
Qualifications:
- Minimum of 5 years of experience as a software engineer, with a focus on security or privacy.
- Demonstrated ability to work efficiently in modern web applications, primarily using PHP and JavaScript.
- Deep expertise in PHP is not mandatory; a strong engineering background with back-end web technologies is sufficient.
