Lead Product Manager, AI

Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is looking for an enterprising lead product manager to coordinate our efforts in artificial intelligence and machine learning, all geared toward achieving our vision: a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.

Wikipedia is one of the most popular media properties in the world, visited by over 1 billion people a month across over 300 different languages. All this knowledge is created and managed by more than 200,000 volunteer contributors – and is becoming more important to the information ecosystem than ever before. Machine learning has been used in Wikipedia for many years, but the latest developments in artificial intelligence present novel opportunities for humans and AI to work together.  AI can help consumers learn from Wikipedia in new ways, and it can help volunteers fight disinformation and generate content easily.  This role is responsible for centralizing how we apply AI across our products to solve emergent problems and bring new value to users.  It also will share responsibility for defining how the Wikimedia Foundation understands and interacts with the rest of the AI ecosystem outside our walls.

Through working with leaders at the Foundation in the domains of Research, Machine Learning, Future Audiences, and Core Experiences, this role is an opportunity to help shape Wikipedia’s strategy for using AI and participating in the AI ecosystem so that it continues to thrive in an evolving internet.

This role is situated on the Machine Learning team and reports to the Senior Director of Product, Core Experiences. Candidates must be available for critical meetings and synchronous work between 15:00 UTC and 19:00 UTC, and open to traveling internationally up to four teams per year.

You are responsible for:

• Coordinating the development, deployment, and maintenance of machine learning and artificial intelligence projects across various consumer and contributor experiences in web browsers and mobile apps.
• Partnering with product managers and researchers to identify new AI-related opportunities and execute initiatives in flight.
• Working with the Research team and Machine Learning team to develop repeatable processes for product teams to experiment with and integrate AI and ML capabilities.
• Contributing a perspective on AI to our developing product strategy.
• Centralizing discussions amongst leaders across the organization around our voice and role in the broader AI ecosystem.  This may include planning our participation in conferences or in media publications.
• Identifying needs and requirements from the global Wikimedia community to inform AI strategy and new AI product development.
• Working closely with Wikipedia contributors and other volunteer community members.
• Defining and tracking metrics for success in our applications of AI and ML.

Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or the equivalent in relevant work experience
• Minimum of 5 years of work experience in product management
• Experience with the application of machine learning and AI in technology products
• Strong knowledge of current AI technology and happenings in the AI technical and business domains
• Success in building high-scale consumer-facing products
• Experience aligning multiple senior stakeholders on complex projects
• Experience developing product strategies in ambiguous domains
• 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. Must be comfortable with evolving requirements and priorities.

Qualities that are important to us:  

• Entrepreneurial drive
• Have excellent relationship building and persuasion skills
• Alignment with Wikimedia mission and values
• Resilience and patience in a large and complex ecosystem of stakeholders
• Be open, curious, and inquiring
• Inclination toward empowering and growing colleagues through empathy and collaboration
• Share in a culture of constructive criticism and respect

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

• Experience building products for multiple languages and geographies.
• Experience editing Wikipedia or with the Wikipedia, Wikidata, or Wikimedia Commons communities or other collaborative enterprises
• Open source software development experience
• Familiarity with MediaWiki

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$124,463 to US$193,900 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 countries: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Uruguay.  Our non-US employees are hired through a local third party Employer of Record (EOR). 

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 recruiting@wikimedia.org or +1 (415) 839-6885.

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