Opportunities
Data Collector—Washington, D.C.
Posted 4/24/2012
U.S. News & World Report, the leading authority in educational rankings, has an immediate opening for a full-time Data Collector in its Washington, D.C. office.
The responsibilities for this position include:
- Review, correct, and verify statistical survey data submitted by colleges and universities
- Assist in various tasks involving the data analysis for the Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and other educational rankings done by U.S. News
- Assist with data collection projects and the development of the Education Section of www.usnews.com
Qualifications:
- Knowledge of survey research
- Microsoft Office, including basic data entry and spreadsheet skills
- Have the ability to meet deadlines and be extremely detail-oriented
- Possess excellent communication/interpersonal skills
- Basic knowledge of database structure a plus
There is no writing involved in this position.
Please send resume, references, and salary requirements to:
Diane Tolis, Data Collection Manager, U.S. News & World Report
dtolis@usnews.com
Please include Data Collector Position in the subject line of the email message.
EOE M/F/V/D
Software Developer (Python/JavaScript)—Washington, D.C.
Posted 4/20/2012
U.S. News & World Report has an immediate opening for a software developer with strong dynamic language skills. This position requires excellent software engineering craftsmanship, two to three years of programming experience, and an interest in content management. The winning candidate will join our team creating web applications that reach millions of visitors monthly, refining his/her craft while working alongside our passionate and friendly team.
Duties include
- working with editors, product managers, graphic designers, and programmers to build sophisticated interactive web applications using JavaScript and Python.
- working with the technical leadership team and key business stakeholders at U.S. News to develop next-generation content management solutions.
- working with developers and system administrators to diagnose and fix application performance problems.
Who you are:
- You are an experienced programmer (2 years minimum) with demonstrated understanding of JavaScript (at least one library and ability to write library-free code) and at least one other dynamic language (preferably Python, but if you're great at Ruby or a lisp, apply).
- You have a commitment to developing high-quality code, demonstrated by familiarity with and use of best practices in areas of testing and documentation.
- You are a developer with experience using and developing least one content management system.
- You have demonstrated an understanding of XML, including the ability to manipulate XML documents programmatically.
- You have a working knowledge of SQL and at least one ORM.
- You have experience working in a Unix/Linux environment, managing code with Subversion, Git, or Hg.
- You have strong written and verbal communication skills, preferably demonstrated by a four-year college degree (additional professional experience AND demonstrated proficiency in writing may be substituted for a degree).
Pluses that will make you a stronger candidate:
- Python expertise.
- Experience with large-scale (10s to 100s of thousands of content items) content migrations between CMSes.
- Experience with a templating language, such as ZPT, Jinja, HAML, etc.
- Experience building sophisticated client side applications using a client-side framework (e.g., Backbone, Spine, Ember, etc).
- Website performance expertise.
- Technical SEO knowledge (e.g., correct tagging practices, debugging content duplication, sitemaps, etc).
- Experience working in a lean or agile software environment.
This is a full-time, permanent position. Work will be done primarily onsite at our offices in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC, using state-of-the-art Macintosh desktops with the editor of your choice.
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 newmedia@usnews.com. Please include 'Software Developer' in the subject line of your email. Send résumé in plaintext. No attachments please.
System Administrator—Washington, D.C.
Posted 4/20/2012
U.S. News & World Report is seeking an experienced system administrator to help maintain and improve our web hosting and development infrastructure.
USNews.com is a highly visible web site that features breaking news as well as 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. The position is in U.S. News’s IT Systems division, but will involve working closely with front-end and back-end web developers.
Tasks/Responsibilities:
- Meet regularly with developers and business decision makers to ensure system resources are available for upcoming and ongoing projects. Attend regular meetings both in the IT Systems and Web Development departments.
- Maintain and enforce system policies and access privileges for staff developers and outside contractors.
- Oversee and advise on impact of new software on existing systems’ performance and manageability. Allocate system resources for new project and development needs.
- Work with hosting facility staff to apply OS upgrades and security patches.
- Configure new and existing servers and software to run custom Apache/Python software stack with PHP and Java components interfacing with multiple database back-ends—primarily PostgreSQL but also MySQL and MongoDB.
- Maintain and update complex load balancing rules.
- Maintain and update caching rules at the content delivery network layer and the local proxy server layer.
- Develop and maintain scripts to facilitate the development, integration, and deployment software life cycle, and to automate system administration tasks.
- Maintain consistency and configuration management across development, integration, and production environments using the puppet automated administrative engine.
- Use performance analysis tools to identify bottlenecks in system performance and make recommendations on how to eliminate bottlenecks.
Requirements:
- Minimum 1 year of Linux/Unix-like system administration in a production environment. Experience with Debian Linux is preferred.
- Experience administering an Apache web server, preferably on a public Internet site.
- Knowledge of Python programming and scripting. Familiarity with the WSGI model and virtual environments is a plus.
- Competence in command line and shell scripting.
- Experience maintaining a RDBMS in a highly-available environment.
- Fundamentals of IP networking, firewalls, DNS, and SSL. Understanding of HTTP load balancer functionality.
- Familiarity with virtualization, specifically VMware. Experience with cloud computing infrastructure such as AWS would be a plus.
To apply, please send a cover letter, résumé, and any references to its-resumes@usnews.com.
Front-End Web Developer (HTML/CSS/Javascript)
U.S. News & World Report has an immediate opening for a front-end web developer with strong skills in HTML, CSS and Javascript. This position requires expert-level knowledge of W3C standards, cross-browser development, accessibility, and a solid understanding of the principles of information architecture and search engine optimization. Strong organizational and communication skills, attention to detail, and ability to meet deadlines are also required.
Duties include
- working with editors, web producers, graphic artists, and programmers to create innovative online features and interactive tools.
- creating web-based content from conceptual page plans in Photoshop.
- crafting flexible templates for custom Python-based content management system.
- 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, and an unobtrusive use of Javascript.
Mandatory skills (you’ll need to be strong in these areas from Day One on the job):
- Very strong understanding of HTML, including HTML5 and XHTML.
- Very strong understanding of CSS.
- Fundamentals of Javascript, including jQuery. Prototype is a plus.
Additional skills (you don’t need to know all of these in advance, but you’ll need to pick them up quickly as you’ll be using them regularly):
- Experience working in a Unix/Linux environment.
- Python, including Zope 2/3 and Pylons frameworks.
- TAL templating.
- Integration of Web applications with SQL databases.
- Integration of streaming video into Web applications.
- Version control/source control systems, especially Subversion.
This is a full-time, permanent position. Work will be done onsite at our offices in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC, using state-of-the-art Macintosh desktops with Adobe CS5 and (optionally) Coda. 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 newmedia@usnews.com. Please include ‘Web Developer’ in the subject line of your email. Send resume in plaintext. No attachments please.
Politics Intern—Washington, D.C.
The Politics & Policy section at U.S.News & World Report is seeking a college graduate with a diverse background in writing and Web production for a one-year internship. The duties of this full-time (37.5 hours a week), hourly paid position will include:
- Researching and writing stories for the Politics & Policy section, including the Opinion and Whispers sections
- Assisting with the production of Web packages that include stories, charts, slide shows, photo galleries, and other elements
- Writing and editing headlines and other content for the Politics & Policy and Opinion sections
- Helping to develop social media efforts for the section
- Assisting with tracking traffic, keywords, and other online trends on major portals and other sites
- Coordinating with outside writers and contributors to generate content for the sections
Requirements:
- A firm grasp of current events and strong news judgment
- Strong research and writing skills
- The ability to work on deadlines in a journalistic environment and manage several tasks and projects simultaneously
- Strong communication and organizational skills
- A demonstrated understanding of social media and ability to effectively promote U.S. News content on social media networks
- Working knowledge of HTML and Web production. Familiarity with content management systems
- Knowledge of SEO best practices and online analytics reporting via Google Analytics or Omniture is a plus
- Knowledge of image-editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, is a plus
Applicants must provide 2-3 references and 3 writing clips in addition to résumé and cover letter. Please send all materials to tsmart@usnews.com and include the phrase “Politics intern” in the subject field.
