Lead Product Manager

Wikipedia is a trusted source of knowledge the world over, read by over a billion people a month in over 300 languages. It’s offered for free and operated independently by a non-profit (that’s us) powered mainly by small donations.

Wikimedia’s Product Safety and Integrity team is charged with keeping Wikipedia a stable and trustworthy place, and protecting its many contributors and readers.

We are hiring a Lead Product Manager to bring their experience dealing with modern threats to bear on Wikipedia’s security strategy in the AI era, and to drive a strong security culture throughout the Wikimedia Foundation and movement.

Though this is a senior role, prior experience in a product manager role is not required. This position is intended to bring strong technical and security experience, including some familiarity with AI in a security context, into a role focused on product and platform strategy. 

This position could be a good fit for a candidate with both strong technical skills and strong communication skills, who is interested in transitioning from engineering work to a strategic role.

This role is an opportunity to be at the center of a pivotal time for Wikipedia, as AI is not only changing security, but also how people access knowledge online. Responding to these changes requires us to plan ambitiously and act decisively, while working closely with the communities whom the project serves. 

This role reports to the Group Product Manager, Safety and Security.

You are responsible for:

• Shaping the Wikimedia Foundation’s product security strategy, and strengthening our team and organizational security culture.
• Determining and driving the priorities of a team of engineers focused on security and privacy, and leveraging the support of a cross-functional team of designers, data scientists, community managers, and others across the Product Safety and Integrity team.
• Driving the design and development of technical features and interventions that make it easier for users to safely get things done, and that make it harder for bad actors to compromise the platform.
• Communicating strategically and candidly, in public and private settings, with community members about our work.
• Establishing strong working relationships with volunteers, acting as a representative and conduit between the Wikimedia community and Foundation on security and privacy issues.
• Partnering closely with leaders in other departments to shape WMF’s overall information security posture.
• Actively staying up to date on current developments in online security and privacy, including vulnerability research and development.

Skills and Experience:

• At least 7 years of professional experience working in teams that build products, including at least 2 years of that time in a security-focused role.
• Experience driving significant security initiatives all the way out the door, in either a senior technical or product management capacity.
• Significant professional experience at using AI-based tools to perform security analysis, and other technical tasks, such as code review and software engineering.
• Comfortable using and learning command-line-based tools as needed.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to interact effectively with all levels of management, staff, and communities.
• Capable of managing a diverse range of responsibilities in a dynamic and results-oriented environment.

Qualities that are important to us:

• Belief that Wikipedia and its community model is a good thing in the world.
• Ability to be decisive and expeditious despite a complex set of stakeholders, including volunteers who perform critical work for the projects.
• Experience working with online communities, especially public ones.

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.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a remote-first organization with staff members including contractors based 40+ countries*. Salaries at the Wikimedia Foundation are set in a way that is competitive, equitable, and consistent with our values and culture. The anticipated annual pay range of this position for applicants based within the United States is US$ 133,121 to US$ 207,388 with multiple individualized factors, including cost of living in the location, being the determinants of the offered pay. For applicants located outside of the US, the pay range will be adjusted to the country of hire. We neither ask for nor take into consideration the salary history of applicants. The compensation for a successful applicant will be based on their skills, experience and location.

*Please note that we are currently able to hire in the following:
US States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico*, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming (*US Territory or Federal District)
Countries: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya*, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore*, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Our non-US employees are hired through a local third party Employer of Record (EOR) and must have current work authorization in their location. (*citizens/permanent residents only)
We periodically review this list to streamline to ensure alignment with our hiring requirements.

All applicants can reach out to their recruiter to understand more about the specific pay range for their location during the interview process.

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 [apply contact hidden] or [apply contact hidden].