Opportunities
Education Web Producer—Washington, D.C.
Posted 4/23/2013
The Education section at U.S. News & World Report seeks a full-time Web producer based in our Washington, D.C., office who will help manage the education pages on usnews.com; post daily stories and blogs; edit photos and produce slideshows; and assist with the online production of our Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools, and other education rankings. The Web producer will also promote education content to other sites and via social media.
We're looking for a candidate experienced with content management systems and social media and able to juggle myriad responsibilities in a busy environment. While this is not a writing position, the Web producer will be called upon to edit online content on a regular basis.
Requirements:
- Minimum of two years of related experience
- Ability to multitask and work on deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Technical proficiency in HTML, Photoshop, and Web production
- Proven editing skills, ideally in an online journalism environment
- Excellent communication and organizational skills and attention to detail
- Demonstrated understanding of and interest in social media
- Willingness to contribute as needed as a member of a small team
- Working knowledge of and interest in U.S. News's Education rankings projects
- Knowledge of SEO best practices and online analytics reporting
- College degree or equivalent
Applicants must provide three references in addition to a résumé and cover letter. Please send all materials to edujobs@usnews.com and include “Education Web Producer” in the subject line. No phone calls, please.
EOE
M/F/V/D
Front-End Developer
Posted 3/21/2013
U.S. News & World Report is looking for several front-end developers of varying degrees of experience to join a small but growing team that develops and maintains most of the custom applications for the company. These positions require expert-level knowledge of frontend development, web standards, and cross-browser development. The winning candidates will join our team creating web applications that reach millions of visitors monthly, refining their craft while working alongside our passionate and friendly team.
Duties include:
- Working with editors, web producers, graphic artists, and programmers to create innovative online features and interactive tools.
- Developing web-based applications, components, and visualizations from conceptual page plans in Photoshop.
- Crafting flexible templates for custom Python-based applications.
- Integrating and troubleshooting code from third-party content and e-commerce partners.
Applicants will be required to provide code demonstrating a clear separation of content, presentation, and behavior.
Mandatory skills (you’ll need to be strong in these areas from day one on the job):
- A very strong understanding of CSS.
- A very strong understanding of HTML, including HTML5 and XHTML.
- A demonstrated understanding of JavaScript and the DOM.
- A good eye for layout and typography; you won’t be designing, but you will be tweaking.
Pluses that will make you a stronger candidate:
- Experience working in a Unix/Linux environment.
- Experience with HTML mobile application development.
- Experience with one or more rich-client frameworks, such as Backbone, Ember, Knockout, etc.
- Experience with client-side benchmarking and performance tuning.
- Server-side templating languages like TAL, Jinja, Velocity, Twig, etc.
- Integration of web applications with SQL databases.
- Version control/source control systems.
These are full-time, permanent positions. Work will be done onsite at our offices in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC, using state-of-the-art Macintosh desktops with Adobe Creative Suite and your favorite editor. Occasional night and weekend work required.
The USNews.com tech team is a made up of very smart people who are passionate about Web development. The ideal candidate will be able to contribute immediately and will both learn from us and teach us a few new things.
Compensation based on experience.
Please apply by email, to its-resumes@usnews.com. Please include ‘Front-End Developer’ in the subject line of your email. Send résumé in plaintext. No attachments please.
Software Developer
Posted 3/21/2013
U.S. News & World Report is looking for several software developers of varying degrees of experience to join a small but growing team that develops and maintains most of the custom applications for our company. The developers at U.S. News have a great deal of independence and a minimum of overhead. You'll get to experiment with interesting technology and see your work enter production regularly.
The key things we’re looking for in a new hire are intelligence, the ability to work with relational databases such as PostgreSQL and Oracle, write legible code, familiarity with dynamic languages such as Perl or Python, and strong oral and written communication skills.
The majority of our work is in developing and maintaining applications on Python web frameworks, including Zope, Pylons, and Pyramid, although we also maintain some applications in Java and PHP.
We have a heterogeneous environment, with Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X machines living side-by-side. Our applications support just about every aspect of company operations, including content management for the usnews.com website, iPad/tablet apps, data ranking products such as Best Colleges/Grad Schools and Best Hospitals, circulation, ad management, ad operations, finances, photo- and videography, public relations, and human resources. Developers typically see applications through from beginning to end, working directly with project owners to gather business requirements, front-end engineers to make sure the UI is functional and fast, and the systems team to ensure stress-free deployments.
We offer a casual work environment. Our offices are in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Qualifications:
- Applicants should be familiar with:
- relational databases, such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, or MS SQL Server.
- dynamic languages, such as Python, Perl, or Ruby.
- Unix-based operating systems, such as Linux or Mac OS X, along with the shells and command-line tools available in those environments.
- Applicants should have strong oral and written communications skills.
- A 4-year degree is a plus.
- Experience with Javascript and Javascript libraries and frameworks (such as jQuery and Prototype) is a plus.
- Experience with web frameworks, such as Django, Pylons, Zope, or Spring is a plus.
- Experience with source control systems, such as Subversion or Git, is a plus.
- We have slots for both new developers and developers with work experience.
- XML/XSLT experience is a plus.
- AJAX experience is a plus.
Please submit your resume to its-resumes@usnews.com with Software Developer in the subject line.
- Principals only; recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
- Please do not contact job poster about other services, products, or commercial interests.
Web System Administrator
Posted 4/9/2013
U.S. News & World Report is seeking a seasoned web system administrator to maintain and improve our web hosting and development systems.
USNews.com is a highly visible web site that features both breaking news and comprehensive data ranking projects. Our infrastructure is based on open source components including Debian GNU/Linux, Apache (Python mod_wsgi), Squid, and PosgreSQL. It is designed to be easily scalable in order to handle periodically anticipated traffic spikes throughout the year.
This is a full-time position, with benefits, located at U.S. News’s Georgetown, Washington, D.C. office.
Responsibilities:
On a daily basis, you’ll be keeping an eye on our website—watching for server alerts, substandard performance, and jumping in to nurse it back to good health. You’ll also be interacting with our enthusiastic team of frontend and backend developers, making sure they have the tools they need to create and publish their content and code.
You also get to show off your creative side as our website infrastructure architect. By making decisions about software, hardware, and network configurations, you will be in the driver’s seat of the technology behind a large respected website.
Here are some of the components and activities you’ll be working on. Don’t worry if you haven’t mastered them all; there’s room for learning on this job!
- Configuring new and existing servers to run a custom Apache/Python stack, with PHP and Java components.
- Setting up highly-available database servers with basic permissions, and ensuring they are backed up. Primarily PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and MongoDB.
- Writing shell scripts for system automation and assisting in the publication of code/content from development to production environments.
- Maintaining server load balancing rules and cache retention times, locally and via CDN.
- Ensuring configuration consistency across server environments using the puppet engine and version control (Git and Subversion).
- Keeping operating systems up to date with the latest security patches.
- Using analysis tools and intuition to identify and correct performance bottlenecks.
Requirements:
- Experience with Linux/Unix-like system administration in a production environment. Debian or Ubuntu Linux is a plus.
- Experience administering an Apache web server, preferably on a public Internet site.
- Basic knowledge of, and ability to read through Python code.
- Competence in command line and shell scripting.
- Fundamentals of IP networking, firewalls, DNS, and SSL.
- Motivation to work with a skilled and energetic team of developers and IT professionals in a fairly relaxed environment.
To apply, please send a cover letter, résumé, and any references to its-resumes@usnews.com with "Web System Administrator" in the subject line.
Autos Online Editor—Washington, D.C.
Posted 2/27/2013
U.S. News & World Report is seeking a motivated, experienced, full-time Online Editor for our consumer-oriented automotive site, usnews.com/cars. This position is based in our Washington, D.C. office.
U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform publisher of news and analysis. Focusing on Health, Money, Education, Travel, Cars and Public Service/Opinion, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. U.S. News Best Cars helped more than 27 million car shoppers in the past year through its rankings and reviews of new and used cars, news and analysis. Our car rankings are based on a consensus of America's top automotive experts, as well as safety and reliability data.
Our ideal teammate has two to four years of journalism or writing experience and is deadline- and detail-oriented. Top-notch research and reporting skills are a must, as is the ability to write clear, conversational reviews, blog posts and feature articles that concisely explain the choices car shoppers face and offer high-quality buying advice. Experience with writing for the web and knowledge of search engine optimization are also required. AP style and copy editing experience are a major plus, as is experience working with and writing about quantitative and qualitative data.
Enthusiasm about cars and the automotive market is a big help, but the best person for the job will be just as enamored with writing about minivans as they are with writing about sports cars. Most importantly, the best candidate for this job will be passionate about helping consumers navigate the new and used car market. This is a great opportunity for a highly motivated individual to expand their experience in online media.
Please email your cover letter, resume and 2-3 clips to eopsitnik@usnews.com with the subject line "Online Editor."
Requirements:
- 2-4 years experience in journalism or online content production
- Proven writing/editing skills and solid portfolio, with strong editorial judgment
- Understanding of SEO and experience with writing for the web
- Proven ability to meet deadlines and handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment
- Excellent communication and organizational skills
- Attention to detail
Autos Intern—Washington, D.C.
Posted 2/6/2013
U.S. News & World Report is seeking a paid editorial intern for our consumer-oriented automotive site, usnews.com/cars. This one-year internship in our Washington, D.C. office is ideal for recent college graduates with strong data skills to support our online data processes. You’ll gain experience with data gathering, online publishing, fact checking, data analysis, search engine optimization and image editing.
U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform publisher of news and analysis. Focusing on Health, Money, Education, Travel, Cars and Public Service/Opinion, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. U.S. News Best Cars helped more than 27 million car shoppers in the past year through its rankings and reviews of new and used cars, news and analysis. Our car rankings are based on a consensus of America's top automotive experts, as well as safety and reliability data.
Our ideal teammate is a strong data analyst who is deadline- and detail-oriented. Top-notch attention to detail is a must, along with strong communication skills. This person will primarily be responsible for gathering automotive data for our site, conducting data audits, editing and uploading photos, fact checking car reviews and analyzing site traffic data. This is a great opportunity for a highly motivated individual to expand their experience in online media.
Interns are expected to work 37.5 hours each week for a one-year period. Our internship rate is $12 an hour. Please email your cover letter and resume to eopsitnik@usnews.com with the subject line “autos internship.”
Requirements:
- Utmost attention to detail
- Experience gathering, processing and analyzing data from multiple sources
- Intermediate-level experience using Microsoft Excel (calculations, sorting, filtering, etc.)
- Basic photo editing skills
- Familiarity with search engine optimization best practices
- Ability to work on deadlines and handle several tasks simultaneously
- Strong communication and organizational skills
- Experience with website analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) a plus
