The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that powers Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects, is looking for a Senior Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) to join our Service Operations team.
In this role, you’ll work on the infrastructure that supports one of the world’s most visited websites — ensuring it’s fast, reliable, and scalable for millions of users around the globe. You’ll collaborate with talented engineers, work with open-source technologies, and contribute to a mission that empowers everyone to access and share knowledge freely.
What You’ll Be Doing
As a Sr. SRE at Wikimedia, your focus will be on the application layer and developer-facing services. You’ll manage and scale platforms that include:
- MediaWiki on bare metal
- Microservices deployed via Kubernetes
- Custom deployment pipelines
- Open-source dev tools like GitLab, Gerrit, and Phabricator
You’ll also:
- Design, implement, and maintain production infrastructure
- Automate operations using Python, Puppet, and Spicerack
- Monitor performance, ensure system reliability, and optimize resources
- Participate in 24/7 on-call rotations and lead incident response when needed
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams: security, release engineering, and development
- Write documentation and runbooks for operational clarity
- Mentor junior team members and share knowledge across teams
Tech Stack You’ll Work With
- Languages: Python, Go, Shell
- Platforms: Kubernetes, Docker, Debian
- Tools: Puppet, Terraform, Spicerack, GitLab, Gerrit
- Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, and custom dashboards
- Collaboration: Wikitech, Phabricator, IRC/Matrix
You’re a Good Fit If You Have:
- 5+ years in SRE, DevOps, or systems engineering
- Strong experience running large-scale, highly available infrastructure
- Hands-on knowledge of Kubernetes and containerized environments
- Experience with configuration management tools (Puppet, Ansible, Terraform)
- Solid scripting skills (Python preferred)
- Good written and verbal communication in English
- Ability to work remotely and collaborate across time zones
- Availability for on-call rotations and incident management
Bonus If You Also Have:
- Experience with Debian and Linux package management
- Open-source contributions (especially infrastructure-related projects)
- Previous involvement in the Wikimedia community or nonprofit tech
- Familiarity with RFC 2549
Why Work at Wikimedia Foundation?
- Purpose-driven work: Build technology that supports free access to knowledge
- Remote-first culture: Work from anywhere in the world (preferably UTC -8 to -3)
- Inclusive team: Diverse, global colleagues with a shared mission
- Growth opportunities: Learn, lead, and contribute to open-source at scale
- Time off: Generous paid leave and flexible schedules
- Supportive environment: Tools, trainings, and tech allowances provided
About Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit behind Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikimedia Commons, and more. Our mission: to ensure that every single person on the planet can freely access and contribute to the sum of all human knowledge. We operate as a 501(c)(3) organization and are funded by millions of donors worldwide.
