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Principal Research Scientist

Remote

We are accepting applications through March 8, 2026 and we expect a start date no later than May 18, 2026.

Summary

For a quarter-century, Wikipedia has stood as a model for the global governance of encyclopedic knowledge, a miracle of cooperation that is made possible by over 300,000 monthly volunteers who write, curate, and deliberate the free encyclopedia anyone can edit and one of the most trusted sources of knowledge in the world. As we celebrate 25 years of Wikipedia, our mission has never been more critical. 

We are witnessing a seismic shift in the information ecosystem. While the cost of content creation has decreased and the affordances of creating high quality content have significantly improved, the cost of verifiability remains very high. Synthetic content is flooding the internet, traditional operating models are being pushed to their limits, knowledge commons platforms experience significant surges to their infrastructure, trust in information online continues to decline, and consensus building is fragmenting.

We are hiring a Principal Research Scientist to join the Wikimedia Foundation’s Research team to support the Wikimedia communities and the Wikimedia Foundation in the continued evolution of Wikimedia projects and their decentralized governance model, ensuring that the projects become multigenerational.

Here are some things we’ve worked on that might give you a better sense of the scope of the work you will be accountable for and part of:

  • Understanding Wikipedia administrator recruitment, retention, and attrition (Learn more)
  • A set of recommendations for conducting NPOV research on Wikipedia (Learn more)
  • Developing a meta-method for analyzing the state of NPOV on Wikipedia (Learn more)

You can learn more about what the team has done in the past six months by reading our biannual report.

Please note: this is a fully remote role that requires working with senior leadership and stakeholders across the organization and the research community in different timezones. It is expected that the Principal Research Scientist be available for critical meetings and synchronous work between 15:00 to 19:00 UTC. It is further expected that the candidate is open to traveling up to four times per year.

You are responsible for:

  • Maintaining a fluent and real-time command of the global research landscape to inform the conversations on Wikipedia quality and integrity.
  • Leading a strategic research portfolio on knowledge integrity.
  • Mentoring individual contributors to execute high-impact scientific projects.
  • Translating complex research findings into actionable strategy and recommendations for the Head of Research, Legal, and Communications teams.
  • Delivering rapid, authoritative technical vetting of external research to identify organizational risks and scientific opportunities under tight deadlines.
  • Driving research advocacy and public engagement in knowledge integrity research. domain, representing the Foundation’s scientific perspective to global stakeholders and the public.
  • Cultivating strategic relationships within the scientific community and standards organizations, translating Wikimedia research findings into industry-wide best practices.

Skills and Experience:

  • A track record of scholarly publications and service to the research and scientific communities including but not limited to human-computer interaction and computational social science communities. 
  • 3 or more years of strategic technical leadership in large matrixed organizations or their equivalent in academia, with a proven ability to counsel senior leadership. 
  • Ability to distill scientific nuance into high-impact, actionable clarity for non-technical stakeholders.
  • Ability to manage a complex portfolio and mentor contributors while pivoting between high-level strategy and technical details.
  • Advanced proficiency in AI, NLP or ML frameworks, with experience auditing algorithms for bias and accuracy OR mastery of mixed-method research specifically applied to online community governance and human system interaction.
  • Proven ability to perform high velocity audits of research to identify methodological flaws, Movement and organizational opportunities and risks, and insights.
  • PhD degree and a minimum of five years of work experience in a related field.

Qualities that are important to us:

  • Deep resonance with our mission, values, and guiding principles.
  • Ability to maintain scientific objectivity and lead through high-stakes ambiguity and change.
  • A proactive builder who is able to theorize and also create systems, frameworks, or products.
  • An active listener who communicates responsibly across diverse, multicultural, and multidisciplinary individuals, teams, and communities.
  • A drive to deliver high quality work that prioritizes real-world impact over academic abstraction.
  • Invested in the Wikimedia research community and the quality and health of our workplace beyond the immediate team.
  • Comfortable working in the open, navigating public exposure and scrutiny with composure.

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

  • Recognized service or leadership roles within major scientific bodies.
  • Experience collaborating with the public in citizen science or volunteer-driven movements.
  • Experience starting a research lab, product, or initiative in a related field.
  • Experience working in NGO, non-profit, or social good oriented organizations.
  • Experience contributing to Wikimedia projects through research or other skills.
  • Fluency in languages beyond English.
  • Experience working with Legal and Communication teams on topics of organizational importance.

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive. 

The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We receive donations from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a remote-first organization with staff members including contractors based 40+ countries*. Salaries at the Wikimedia Foundation are set in a way that is competitive, equitable, and consistent with our values and culture. The anticipated annual pay range of this position for applicants based within the United States is $164,924 to $251,398 with multiple individualized factors, including cost of living in the location, being the determinants of the offered pay. For applicants located outside of the US, the pay range will be adjusted to the country of hire. We neither ask for nor take into consideration the salary history of applicants. The compensation for a successful applicant will be based on their skills, experience and location.

*Please note that we are currently able to hire in the following:
US States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico*, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming (*US Territory or Federal District)

Countries: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom and Uruguay. Our non-US employees are hired through a local third party Employer of Record (EOR).

We periodically review this list to streamline to ensure alignment with our hiring requirements.

All applicants can reach out to their recruiter to understand more about the specific pay range for their location during the interview process.

If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at recruiting@wikimedia.org or +1 (415) 839-6885.

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