Join to apply for the Tech Lead, Wikidata Platform role at Wikimedia Foundation
Summary
The Wikimedia Foundation is seeking a collaborative technical lead to oversee the sustainment, development, and evolution of the Wikidata query platform, one of the world's largest open linked databases. Wikidata supports Wikipedia's structure and contributor activities, impacting billions across 300+ languages. It is also vital for libraries, universities, and tech platforms. Our vision is a world where everyone can freely share all human knowledge, including data access for editing, research, feature development, and AI advancement.
As the Technical Lead, you will shape the future of user query and access at scale, guiding the technical vision and architecture to ensure stability, reliability, and sustainability. You will share responsibility with the Staff Product Manager and Engineering Manager for platform delivery and operations, reporting to the Director of Product, Abstract Wikipedia and Wikidata Platform. Collaboration with Wikimedia Deutschland (WMDE) and other teams is essential.
This remote role involves leading design, development, and deployment of Wikidata's query architecture, working closely with product teams to meet user needs and manage growth. The environment includes open source and off-the-shelf technologies, hosted mainly in data centers. You will also serve as a strategic partner to senior leadership and affiliates.
Responsibilities include:
* Ensuring stability, performance, and scalability of the Wikidata Query Service (WDQS)
* Articulating vision for the query infrastructure supporting growth and sustainability
* Developing query methods, APIs, algorithms, and indexing strategies
* Collaborating on system requirements and iterative improvements
* Staying informed on advancements in knowledge representation technologies
* Persevering through setbacks and communicating pivot needs
* Understanding the Wikimedia movement and its influence on work
* Establishing best practices for interacting with query services
* Performing data analysis for insights and patterns
Skills and experience required:
* 8+ years building and scaling API-driven data platforms
* 4+ years in data engineering at scale
* Deep understanding of database and knowledge graph technologies
* Proficiency in Java, C++, or similar languages
* Experience with privacy, security, and data governance
* Proven ability to break down ambiguous projects and collaborate across teams
* Knowledge of scalable data processing frameworks (Spark, Kafka, Flink, etc.)
Qualities valued:
* Commitment to Wikimedia’s mission and values
* Strong problem-solving and leadership skills
* Excellent communication abilities
* Decision-making in complex, uncertain environments
* Creativity and simplicity in solutions
* Curiosity and continuous learning
* Mentoring and team development skills
* Resilience, patience, emotional intelligence
Preferred additional skills:
* Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), CI/CD
* Open source/community involvement
* Experience with Wikimedia projects
* Shareable data platform contributions
About Wikimedia Foundation:
We operate Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects, aiming for universal free access to knowledge. As a nonprofit, funded by donations, we support volunteers, develop software, and advocate for open knowledge. We value diversity and inclusivity and are a remote-first organization with staff in over 40 countries.
Compensation varies by location, with a range of US$129,347 to US$200,824 for US-based applicants. We encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and provide accommodations for applicants with disabilities.
Additional info on benefits, privacy, projects, and our tech stack is available on our site. #J-18808-Ljbffr