Senior Software Engineer - Wikidata Platform

The Wikimedia Foundation is excited to invite applications for the position of Senior Software Engineer on the Wikidata Platform team. This role is integral to enhancing the infrastructure that supports Wikidata, the structured data backbone of Wikimedia's projects, and contributes significantly to the global open knowledge ecosystem. You will play a crucial role in scaling and ensuring the resilience of the Wikidata Query Service (WDQS) and associated platform services. This position blends backend engineering with operational ownership, allowing you to implement high-scale, production-grade services while maintaining optimal performance and reliability.

As part of a fully remote team, you will need to align your working hours to overlap with UTC+1 to UTC-5 time zones, ensuring collaboration with colleagues from around the world. The team's overlapping working hours are from 14 : 00 to 17 : 00 UTC.

Key Responsibilities :

• Design, develop, and maintain backend systems and APIs that underpin Wikidata's query infrastructure.
• Enhance the reliability, visibility, and automation of the Wikidata Query Service and its data pipelines.
• Work alongside SRE, data engineers, and product teams to guarantee stability and scalability amidst increasing usage.
• Monitor production systems, swiftly respond to operational incidents, and proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.
• Support platform migrations and system upgrades, including triple stores and streaming ingestion.
• Contribute to deployment automation, CI / CD workflows, and service instrumentation.
• Engage in code reviews, design discussions, and technical planning.
• Document systems and share knowledge with team members and the wider Wikimedia technical community.

Desired Skills and Experience :

Preferred Qualifications :

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization behind Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects, with a vision of a world where everyone can freely contribute to and access a collective body of knowledge. We are a remote-first organization, employing a diverse workforce from over 40 countries, and we are committed to equity and inclusion in our workplace.

Salaries at the Wikimedia Foundation are determined based on competitive, equitable measures consistent with our organizational values. The anticipated annual compensation for this position in the United States ranges from $141,352 to $175,725, with variations based on individual qualifications and cost of living. For applicants outside the U.S., salary will be adjusted according to the local context.

If you require assistance or accommodations due to a disability during any part of the application process, please reach out to our recruiting team.