Thunderbird is hiring more developers
Thunderbird is hiring! If you're interested, read on below. In case you
know of suitable candidates, make sure to let them know about this
opportunity!
-Magnus
About Thunderbird
Thunderbird is an email client depended on daily by 25 million people on
three platforms: Windows, Mac and Linux (and other *nix). It was
developed under the Mozilla Corporation until 2014 when the project was
handed over to the community.
The Thunderbird project is lead by the Thunderbird Council, a group of
volunteers from the community who has a strong interest in moving
Thunderbird forward. With the help of the Mozilla Foundation,
Thunderbird employs about a handful of staff, and is now hiring
additional developers to support the volunteer community in making
Thunderbird shine.
You will join the team that is leading Thunderbird into a bright future.
We are working on increasing the use of web technologies and decreasing
dependencies on the internals of the Mozilla platform, to ensure
independence and easier maintenance.
The Thunderbird team works openly using public bug trackers and
repositories, providing you with a premier chance to show your work to
the world.
About the Contract
We need your help to improve and maintain Thunderbird. Moving
Thunderbird forward includes replacing/rewriting components to be based
primarily on web technologies, reducing the reliance on Mozilla-internal
interfaces. It also includes boosting the user experience of the product.
Maintenance involves fixing bugs and regressions, as well as addressing
technical debt and enhancing performance. Most tasks have a component of
both maintenance and improvement, and any new component needs careful
integration with the existing system.
We have compiled a high level list of tasks here
http://lists.thunderbird.net/pipermail/maildev_lists.thunderbird.net/2018-October/001317.html;
the work assigned to you will include a subset of these items. Let us
know in your cover letter where you believe you can make most impact and
how.
You will work with community volunteers and other employees around the
globe to advance the Thunderbird product and mission of open and secure
communications.
This is a remote, hourly 6-month contract with a possibility to extend.
Hours will be up to 40 per week.
Your Professional Profile
Since we are looking to fill a few positions, we are interested to hear
from both junior and senior candidates who can offer the following:
Familiarity with open source development.
Solid knowledge and experience developing a large software system.
Strong knowledge of JavaScript, HTML and CSS, as well as at least
some basic C++ skills.
Good debugging skills.
Ideally exposure to the Mozilla platform as a voluntary contributor
or add-on author with knowledge of XPCOM, XUL, etc.
Experience using distributed version control systems (preferably
Mercurial).
Experience developing software cross-platform applications is a plus.
Ability to work with a geographically distributed team and community.
A degree in Computer Science would be lovely; real-world experience
is essential.
You should be a self-starter. In a large code-base it’s inevitable that
you conduct your own research, investigation and debugging, although
others in the project will of course share their knowledge.
We expect you to have excellent communication skills and coordinate your
work over email, IRC, and Bugzilla as well as video conferencing.
Next Steps
If this position sounds like a good fit for you, please send us your
resume and cover letter to apply@mozillafoundation.org
mailto:apply@mozillafoundation.org.
A cover letter is essential to your application, as we want to know how
you’d envision your contributions to the team. Tell us about why you're
passionate about Thunderbird and this position. Also include samples of
your work as a programmer, either directly or a link. If you contribute
to any open source software, or maintain a blog we'd love to hear about it.
You will be hired as an independent contractor through the Upwork
https://www.upwork.com/service as a client to the Mozilla Foundation.
The Thunderbird Project is separate from the Mozilla Foundation, but the
Foundation acts as the project's fiscal and legal home.
By applying for this job, you are agreeing to have your applications
reviewed by Thunderbird contractors and volunteers who are a part of the
hiring committee as well as by staff members of the Mozilla Foundation.
Mozilla is an equal opportunity employer. Mozilla and the Thunderbird
Project value diversity and do not discriminate based on race, religion,
color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status,
veteran status, or disability status.