Position Postings: bringing heart and mind together

 

Want to apply your skills to directly helping society? Do you fantasize about getting paid a reasonable wage to make the world a better place? Benetech is Silicon Valley's deliberately nonprofit tech company, and we apply technology to directly assist the causes of literacy, accessibility, human rights and the environment.

Benetech's Bookshare.org project has exciting new opportunities for you to use your technical skills for social good. We have just received a major five-year award from the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. federal Department of Education to fully support — for free — all schools and students with qualifying print disabilities in the United States, K-12 and post-secondary, with access to the entire Bookshare.org collection of accessible electronic books and to software for reading those books.

To support this award, we are hiring for the following Bookshare.org and Engineering positions:

Librarian (#LIB)

Benetech has a unique and exciting opportunity for a Librarian for Bookshare.org, the world's largest collection of digital electronic books for the blind and print disabled. Benetech was founded in 1989 with an explicit goal to create new technology solutions that serve humanity and empower people to improve their lives. Led by Jim Fruchterman, a leading social entrepreneur and MacArthur Fellow, Benetech’s mission is to lead the world in creative, effective applications of technology to unmet social needs. We focus on projects that offer the greatest social return on funds invested.

In 2007 Benetech was awarded $32 million by the Federal Government to expand Bookshare.org’s online collection to over 100,000 additional volumes in support of all print-disabled students nationwide. Currently, the Bookshare.org library contains over 39,000 volumes. The librarian for Bookshare.org will shepherd the collection through its growth as one of the nation's foremost educational resources for disabled students in this country. This is a technical position and ideal for someone interested in the challenge of devising and implementing a cutting edge on-line cataloging scheme that meets the needs of a specialized population while maintaining standard library interfaces.

This position is full time, onsite in Palo Alto, California and reports to the Director of Operations for Bookshare.org. Resumes from candidates requesting 30/hrs week will be considered.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Select an appropriate classification schema for the collection based on several key criteria including compatibility with other accessible collections
  • Reclassify the books in the collection according to the new schema
  • Enable and coordinate cross-referencing with other collections of accessible books
  • Create and implement a collection acquisition plan for growing the collection
  • Liaison with professional library associations such as the ALA, IFLA and DAISY
  • Work effectively with all departments within Bookshare.org (Collection Development, Publisher Liaison, Partner Programs, etc.) to maintain the quality and integrity of the collection.

Qualifications

  • A degree in library science is required and 5+ years in Library and Information Management with an emphasis on utilization of Information technologies.
  • Technical expertise with metadata technology, such as Dublin Core, used to describe and classify books in an online digital collection is required
  • Very strong professional interpersonal skills and the ability to represent Bookshare.org's interests to a wide variety of stakeholders
  • Ability to work well independently and within a multi-disciplinary team environment with high standards, integrity and a sense of humor
  • Management experience is a plus
  • Experience working with school libraries at the K-12 or university level is highly desirable
  • Knowledge of the assistive technology field with emphasis on tools and technology for access to printed materials is a definite plus.

- Back to Top - | - Back to Employment Opportunities -

Sr. Systems and Release Engineer (#SRSE)

Are you ready to join an engineering team that is building tools and services in the areas of literacy, accessibility and human rights? Our group is tackling complex problems and making a difference in the world. Benetech is a non-profit that behaves like a Silicon Valley tech company and if you have a passion for engineering and a desire to support humanitarian causes, then we want you to join us!

Position Summary: Senior GNU/Linux (or Unix) Systems Engineer responsible for developing and maintaining the software platforms that support Benetech services.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Design components of infrastructure that will launch in Fall 2008
  • Build and manage deployment system to support of a suite of Java-based web applications
  • General performance tuning
  • Guide decision-making on system monitoring, productivity applications and collaboration tools
  • Manage Postgres databases; data-warehousing; author SQL
  • Some application development, scripting and system customization work
  • Collaborate with our solution provider in managing Linux-based environments that host Bookshare application infrastructure: Apache, Resin application server, Subversion, continuous integration server, etc.
  • Implement network security
  • Documentation

Qualifications

  • BA/BS in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience
  • 4+ years experience with GNU/Linux (or Unix) systems administration
  • Experience running and monitoring high-traffic sites
  • Knowledge of configuration and change management
  • Fluent in at least one scripting/coding language; bash, python preferred
  • Strong understanding of IP networking, including familiarity with the functionality, operating, and failure modes of common networking devices, and the ability to analyze network behavior, performance and application issues using standard tools like tcpdump
  • Proven technical troubleshooting and performance tuning experience
  • Understanding of secure networking protocols required.

Required Competencies

  • High standards for technical documentation
  • Ability to work as part of a close-knit, cross-functional team with both technical and non-technical team members
  • Excellent communication, problem-solving and organizational skills
  • Ability to effectively prioritize work queue
  • Fluent written communication and unusual verbal agility are strong assets
  • Ability to handle periodic on-call duty as well as out-of-band requests
  • Sharp analytical abilities
  • A strong sense of ownership, urgency and drive

- Back to Top - | - Back to Employment Opportunities -

Applying with Benetech

To submit your resume and cover letter for consideration on any open position, you can:

Fax your resume to:
650-475-1066
Please include the Position Number in your cover letter.

Email your resume to: hr@benetech.org
Please include the Position Number in your subject line.

Mail your resume to:

Human Resources
Position # _______
The Benetech Initiative
480 S. California Ave.
Suite 201
Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609
 

Overview
President's Update
The Beneblog
Business Model
Board of Directors
Senior Management Team
Awards and Publications
Strategic Partners
Media Resources
Documentation and Financials
Overview
HRDAG
Martus
Funders and Strategic Partners
Testimonials
Overview
Bookshare
Strategic Partners
Success Stories
Route 66
Overview
Volunteer Opportunities
Employment Opportunities
Overview
Miradi
Contact Information
Driving Directions
Visitor Information
Privacy Policy