Internet Freedom Nonprofit Seeks User Research Coordinator

April 3rd, 2024

The Tor Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advancing human rights and freedoms by creating and deploying free and open source anonymity and privacy technologies, is seeking a User Research Coordinator with 4-7 years of related work experience to be a part of the User Experience & Design (UX) Team.

Are you passionate about making software usable and fun for all types of people? Do you want to coordinate user research for software that helps people protect their privacy and freedom online? If so, this may be the job for you.

This position will be an integral part of a small, "full stack" design team, encompassing the disciplines of UX, brand design, and ethical user research.

The team coordinates via IRC, email, GitLab, on audio/video calls, and in-person meetings once per year. In addition, this position will also require international travel at multiple points throughout the year.

A personal commitment to free and open source software, good communication and documentation skills, and passion for contributing to the greater good are all essential. At the Tor Project, we reject invasive data gathering practices and adhere to the principles of consent, respect, and empathy.

This is a full-time, remote position, which could be performed from most places in the world – please see below for the US sanctions & embargo disclaimer. The organization is also currently experimenting with a four day workweek.

The salary for this position ranges from $70,000 - $80,000 USD (based on candidate experience), and there is voluntary opt-in salary transparency for employees and contractors.

Responsibilities

In this role, you will:

  • Create detailed research plans for various Tor-powered products using a diverse range of research methods.
  • Engage with regional experts to conduct country-level risk assessments for our participants.
  • Conduct some user research activities first-hand, and coordinate others with partners from our wider community.
  • Translate user feedback into actionable findings for our product designers and developers.
  • Maintain and expand the documentation we provide about open user research at Tor.
  • Work with a multidisciplinary team of people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Skills & Experience

The ideal candidate for this job will have the following skills and experience:

  • Experience conducting user research both in-person and remotely, including usability testing, diary studies, surveys, interviews or other research methods.
  • An emphasis on producing high-quality documentation to support your user research activities, including research plans, survey scripts, reports, user personas and more.
  • An excellent eye for detail and high degree of organization.
  • Fluency in written and spoken English, plus proficiency in a non-English language – especially Arabic, French, Mandarin, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili or Spanish.

In addition to:

  • A history of designing or advocating for the causes of free-software, open source technology, human-rights, privacy, censorship-circumvention or an interest in internet-freedom in general.
  • Familiarity with the challenges faced by internet users who are subject to surveillance and censorship, and/or the concept of threat modeling in general.

If you feel that you meet most of these requirements or could meet them with a little time and support, we would love to hear from you!

How to Apply

Please click here to apply.

A resumé, cover letter and portfolio featuring recent case studies is required. Please use the cover letter as an opportunity to tell us about how your experience relates to the job description and why you want to work at Tor.

About The Tor Project

The Tor Project’s workforce is inclusive, talented, and committed. We currently have a global paid and contract staff of around 50 developers and operational support people, plus many thousands of volunteers who contribute to our work world-wide. The Tor Project is funded in part by government research and development grants, and in part by individual, foundation, and corporate donations.

Tor is for everyone, and we are actively working to build a team that represents people from all over the world - people from diverse ethnic, national, and cultural backgrounds; people from all walks of life. We encourage people subject to systemic bias to apply, including people of color, indigenous people, LGBTQIA+ people, women, and any other person who is part of a group that is underrepresented in tech.

We have long-standing community guidelines and cultural norms. Our community is committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment. Please read more here:

The Tor Project has a competitive benefits package, including a generous PTO policy, 16 paid holidays per year (including the week between Christmas and New Years, when the office is closed), and flexible work schedule. Insurance benefits vary by employment status and country of residence.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the country in which they live, we cannot provide visa assistance for this position.

The Tor Project, Inc., is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

Notice: Due to U.S. sanctions and embargo regulations, The Tor Project, Inc. is not able to hire individuals with citizenship and residency in certain countries, including but not limited to Russia, North Korea, Cuba, Iraq, China, Iran, and Syria.