Senior Software Engineer (Security)

Timezone preference : GMT-5 through GMT+1

Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join the Product Safety and Integrity team and build new security features to protect Wikipedia and our other projects. This is a very hands‑on engineering role, working alongside a team of engineers and product managers to design and implement new features to protect and reassure our users and to ensure the platform remains resilient against attacks.

You are a seasoned software engineer with experience building security features in large‑scale systems. You understand the importance of testing and documentation, and common pitfalls in developing secure web applications. You have a passion for the WMF mission. We operate in a highly transparent manner, and the work we do touches thousands of editors every day.

You will be working primarily on our MediaWiki platform which powers Wikipedia. As a top 10 website, we must meet stringent performance standards while addressing new security challenges such as supporting modern authentication technologies, detecting and preventing platform abuse from bots, and planning and rolling out improvements to our security architecture by defending against emerging security threats.

You are responsible for :

• Helping design, develop, and deliver security features, with safety and security in mind
• Working with other engineering teams to ensure that they make safe architectural and implementation choices
• Leading by example in code review, decision‑making, and team culture — fostering transparency, empathy, and collaboration
• Developing, reviewing, and deploying security features developed by the Foundation and community members
• Performing security maintenance and addressing technical debt in security‑critical components
• Providing support for application security incidents and operations

Skills and Experience :

We value the right mindset and potential over a checklist of specific experiences, and these are the traits we’ve identified that make great additions to our team so far.

Additionally, we’d love it if you have :

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not‑for‑profit organization that relies on donations. We receive donations from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax‑exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.

If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at recruiting@wikimedia.org or +1 (415) 839-6885.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a remote‑first organization with staff members including contractors based 40+ countries

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