Careers at the Institute

Would you like to work with protecting people's privacy online? There are many engineering jobs available that claim to be about "privacy", but they should call many of those jobs "anti-privacy": the task is often to help the employer to continue unhindered to collect as much data as possible.

It generally doesn't take more engineers for most of these companies to "solve" privacy for their users: they could just stop collecting most of that information in the first place.

If you want to work with privacy in the sense of protecting people from being spied upon - and not the other way around - consider coming to work for us. We call it "actual privacy".

We are a newly formed non-profit that aims to help people live in a modern world, online and offline, without having to accept indiscriminate surveillance and data gathering. In this mission we need software, internet, and application software engineers and security specialists.

Click "more information" under any of the jobs for details; click "apply now" to apply. Note that you can apply to multiple positions with the same application. In the application below you can attache multiple documents such as cover letter and resume.


  Actual Privacy Engineer

We are looking for computer software engineers with a deep passion for privacy and security. We are working with a broad range of technologies - browser, VPN, email systems, password management, file sharing, messaging, video conferencing - and seek engineers with an interest to dive in where needed. The work is a mixture of new development with a great deal of integration of a mixture of open source and licensed technologies.

        Apply Now

Preferred qualifications, areas of experience, and knowledge domains:
  • BS or MS degree in computer science, computer engineering, information systems, privacy engineering or related field of study, or equivalent work experience
  • Understanding of existing full-stack engineering: front-end/backend, API and service architecture design, web infrastructure and distributed systems
  • Reasonable grasp of big data systems, languages, and databases
  • Experience with and understanding of internet privacy and security issues, including familiarity with security or privacy communities

  Devops

We are seeking an experienced DevOps engineer that is highly motivated and willing to dive into diverse technologies with an in-depth understanding of cloud computing, integration and automation. In this role, you’ll work collaboratively with software engineering to deploy and operate our systems. Help automate and streamline our operations and processes. Build and maintain tools for deployment, monitoring and operations. And troubleshoot and resolve issues in different environments.

        Apply Now

Duties:
  • Managing virtual networks
  • Managing different authentication and authorization protocols
  • Managing cloud services
  • Scripting in highly technical and secure environments
  • Working with Software Engineering to integrate and deploy various platforms
  • Managing continuous delivery processes
  • Backup and recovery
  • Identity management
  • Database administration
Requirements
  • Experience managing cloud services such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Digital Ocean, and Rackspace
  • Experience in Unix/Linux environments.
  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field, or equivalent experience
  • SQL and database management skills
  • A minimum of 3 years of related experience
  • Extensive understanding of networking in general, and modern desktop / mobile / cloud / web protocols and networking standards, all relevant to privacy and security concerns for end consumers.
  • Familiarity with one or more scripting language (Python/bash/ruby/etc.)
  • A good understanding of the software development lifecycle
  • Familiarity with Continuous integration, testing and deployment
  • An understanding of, and an interest in contemporary privacy issues.
Experience and familiarity with the following are a plus:
  • Configuration and automation scripting
  • Version control systems
  • VPN, proxies, and tunneling
  • One or more Linux-/Unix-related certifications
  • Server administration and maintenance

  System Administrator

As part of our mission, we are expanding our IT and System Administration staff. We want an expert problem solver that is highly motivated and willing to dive into diverse technologies with an in-depth understand of computer hardware, networks and software. Do you have a passion for privacy and security and want to make a difference?

        Apply Now

You will be expected to perform the full range of system administration related duties including:
  • Backup and recovery
  • Documentation
  • Light scripting
  • Network monitoring
  • Password and identity management
  • Server administration and maintenance
  • Server security and policy
  • System monitoring
  • Updates and patching
  • User administration
You need to have experience with managing cloud services such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Digital Ocean, and Rackspace. You need experience in Unix/Linux environments. Experience and familiarity with the following are a plus:
  • Configuration and automation scripting
  • Version control systems
  • Continuous integration, testing and deployment
  • VPN, proxies, and tunneling concepts and protocols
  • SQL and Database administration
You have bachelor’s degree or higher in an IT related field, or equivalent work experience, and preferably one or more Linux- / Unix- related certifications such as:
  • Linux+ / LPIC-1 or higher / RHCSA or higher / GCUX (SANS GIAC) / Oracle OCA & OCP / LFCS or LFCE
  • A minimum of 3 years full time system administration experience. Additional 3 years minimum Linux specific system administration experience in lieu of a Linux or Unix related certification.
  • Extensive understanding of networking in general, and modern desktop / mobile / cloud / web protocols and networking standards in particular, all relevant to privacy and security concerns for end consumers.

  Cyber Security and Data Privacy Specialist

For this position we are looking for a security and privacy researcher who can serve as our “resident expert”, both to support product and service offering efforts, as well as strategic direction and policies, and contribute directly to our Digital Privacy News service. Title and compensation will depend on your background and experience. Similarly, for the right candidate we are flexible with respect to location and work hours.

        Apply Now

Our current thoughts on requirements and contents of this role:
  • Well versed in security and privacy subject matter and best practices
  • Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, or equivalent practical experience
  • Experience in Corporate Security, Military or Law Enforcement, or equivalent
  • Experience as an open source researcher is a plus
  • Experience in policy work or advocacy is a plus
  • Ability (and preferably experience) in serving as a “public face” and spokesperson on information privacy issues, regardless of technical depth
  • Proficient in programing and scripting
  • Extensive and varied systems experience
  • Critical and creative thinker
  • Effective written communication skills
  • Ability to work non-standard hours if needed
  • Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work independently and meet deadlines Supervise and manage security related aspects of the foundations own organization and staff is included in the work role, but given our small scale this should not be a time sink
This should be an interesting opportunity to join us in building a brand-new non-profit enterprise from the ground floor.

  Web / UI Developer

We are expanding our technical staff and are seeking an experienced web app frontend developer that is highly motivated and willing to dive into diverse technologies to help us build a great user experience.

        Apply Now

Your principal duty will be to work with our custom single-sign-on (SSO) service that ties together a set of web apps for our members, all of them oriented towards protecting your data and privacy. Our current version is based on an array of technologies including webpack, flask, handlebars, bootstrap, jquery on the front end, and both Azure SQL and Azure Cosmos DB on the backend.
More specifically, duties include:
  • Develop functional and appealing web- and mobile-based applications
  • Create quality mockups and prototypes on tight timelines
  • Assist back-end developers with coding and troubleshooting
  • Create cascading style sheets (CSS) that are consistent across all browsers and platforms
  • Maintain graphic standards and branding throughout the product’s interface
  • Provide website maintenance and enhancements
  • Stay up-to-date on emerging technologies
Requirements:
  • Proficiency with HTML, CSS, JavaScript
  • Experience with various modern front-end tools (e.g. Webpack, jQuery, Bootstrap, etc.)
  • Experience with user-centric UX design
  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field, or equivalent work experience
  • A minimum of 3 years of relevant experience
  • Documented talent and experience in building a modern single-page application (SAP)
  • Experience with responsive and adaptive design
  • Familiarity with Python, proficiency is a plus; familiarity with Flask a plus
  • A good understanding of the software development lifecycle
  • Strong problem solving, verbal communication, and interpersonal skills
  • An understanding of, and an interest in, contemporary privacy issues

Application Form


Please fill out the general section of the application below. You are welcome to apply for more than one job, in which case make sure to select all that apply. There are sections of the application that are specific to some jobs - those sections will only be visible if you check the corresponding boxes.

The questions are all optional - if you feel your resume speaks for itself, then feel free to skip answering them.

Please note that we recommend you include a relevant cover letter. If you prefer you can simply email a resume to careers@magnusson.institute, however, this application form is more secure and private than email (see details below).

This section applies generally to all applicants

This section applies only to DevOps/System Administrator applicants

This section applies only to Web/UI Developer applicants

Below, please provide pointers to any online portfolio(s) you have, if more than one then pick at most 3 best/most relevant. If you have provided them on your resume or in a cover letter, then we probably already have these, but we want to make sure not to have missed any. PLEASE NOTE: GitHub is useful, but a live site is better. Also, please check that your demo/portfolio site is up and working.

( You only need to press the button ONCE ... )

You might be interested to know: we have struggled with how to gather information from job applicants in an appropriate manner. We've concluded that there is no way to gather applications through the common online job sites without compromising your privacy. We therefore encourage all applicants to come to this page (magnusson.institute/careers) directly, and not provide application information anywhere else.

This job application page and related back-end is custom designed and built by us. All the information you provide, including any and all attached documents, are securely packaged and encrypted 'in situ' in your client (Javascript) using strong crypto (random 256-bit AES-GCM with 128-bit MAC wrapped in 4096-bit RSA_OAEP). Once encrypted it is pushed through a public restful API into a cloud-based NoSQL with the only metadata being the timestamp—we do not collect your location, information about your browser, IP address, etc.. The page you're looking at now is in fact static content. Your application can only be decrypted off-line.