Location: 0 - +4 GMT (Europe)

Duration: 6 months (renewable)

Application Deadline: 31/01/2024

About Us

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a growing, global nonprofit media organization that is reinventing investigative journalism for the public good. By developing and equipping a global network of investigative journalists and publishing their stories, we expose crime and corruption so the public can hold power to account. We see a future where organized crime and corruption are drastically reduced and democracy is strengthened. Our global team includes editors, researchers, data engineers, security specialists, administrators, technologists, and strategists, each with areas of in-depth expertise.

Position Overview

We are looking for an experienced lead developer who wants the opportunity to work on a greenfield project. You’ll be working on a new project as part of the OCCRPs product development team and will need to design and build the next generation of investigative tooling for OCCRP. The software you build will Help journalists collect, organize, and visualize primary sources of information for the stories they create and publish. You should be interested in the field of investigative journalism and in the architecture and interplay of the tools used to create complex data systems. You understand how to design, develop, deploy and maintain these systems and are familiar with the common problems that occur within them.

As Lead Developer, you will be responsible for helping to architect the system on which this software will be built. The stack will need to reflect other software that we already maintain, so expect to be working with Python, JS/TS, React, and GCP (Google Cloud Platform). The system will not exist in isolation and will be required to integrate with a number of existing systems that we have in place via an API. Product security is a top priority and anything you build will be required to integrate with our existing SSO solution. Although you will be working alone to start with, most of the work we do is open source so experience engaging with the OS community is a plus.

You are comfortable working remotely and alone. You understand the advantages and disadvantages that come with these limitations. You are proactive and confident at communicating and collaborating with the team in English. You are passionate about working on a greenfield project where you will have to juggle priorities appropriately. You must be able to travel periodically to work with your colleagues in person, you do not have any issues traveling within Europe.

As lead developer your core responsibility will be to define the architecture of the Lumivera platform before creating and polishing it. Some of this architecture may already exist as we have time constraints that require us to engage with an agency in the short term. If there is existing code to take over, you will be required to review and assess its suitability.

You are proficient with the following:

• Requirements gathering
• API design
• Systems Architecture
• Database design (esp graph databases)

You have some Knowledge of the following tools and libraries:

• Messaging brokering
• Task Queues
• DVCS
• Search
• Document processing pipelines (ETL)
• Python
• Typescript/Javascript

You are comfortable with the following soft skills:

• Documenting, Presenting, and discussing ideas and approaches to technical solutions
• Designing and Building scalable and maintainable solutions
• Working closely other engineering and our infrastructure teams
• Being on top of emerging technologies and how they may impact our tools and platforms
• Working in an Open Source environment, with an active community

To Apply

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume to jobs[at]occrp.org

All applications must be submitted in English. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Whilst we have internal goals to reply to unsuccessful candidates, we regret that the high number of applicants greatly exceeds our capacity to respond to each person. We apologize that we will not be able to reply to all unsuccessful applicants. As an equal opportunity employer, OCCRP 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 race, religion, color, national origin, sex, medical conditions, family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, 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, please contact hr[at]occrp.org