Browser Developer Full-time

# Internet Freedom Nonprofit Seeks Browser Developer

April 19, 2021

The Tor Project, Inc., 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 an experienced developer to work on Tor Browser.

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. Racial minorities, non-gender-binary people, women, and people from any group that is generally underrepresented in tech are encouraged to apply.

This Browser Developer will be an integral part of a small team that maintains the Tor Browser as well as other Tor applications inside the organization. The team coordinates both synchronously and asynchronously via IRC, email, bug trackers, and some voice meetings. 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.

This is a full-time, remote position.

## The Job:

- Provide code review for new browser modifications, and accept code review from other team members

- Evaluate and audit recent changes in Firefox, and understand how that affects Tor Browser users

- Support maintaining Tor Browser on top of recent versions of Firefox

- Improve Tor Browser's security, privacy, and anonymity properties

- Collaborate with Mozilla and directly improve Firefox

- Simplify and improve Tor Browser's current protections

- Support the continuous integration testing framework and tests

- Collaborate with other teams at the Tor Project, external software projects (e.g. OONI), and research groups.

- Improve Tor Browser's web compatibility


Our main codebases: Tor Browser is the combinbation of multiple codebases (https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/wikis/Codebases)

## Requirements -- Technical Abilities/Experience:

- Advanced skills in writing C/C++, Rust and JavaScript.

- Possess a solid understanding of issues surrounding secure C++ programming and reference counted memory (at least to the level of avoiding issues).

- Be comfortable diving into new, unfamiliar codebases, looking for ways to alter and augment their functionality in specific, goal-oriented ways.

- Be familiar with web technologies and how the web works, especially the same-origin model and web tracking.

- Willingness and ability to justify and document technical decisions for a public, world-wide technical audience.

- Be comfortable working remotely with a geographically distributed team.

- Experience interacting with users and other developers online, including experience being confronted with differing ideas and opinions (not always in a nice manner), while maintaining a high level of professionalism.

- Comfort with transparency: as a non-profit organization that develops open source software, almost everything we do is public, including your name (or at least your business name) and possibly salary information.


## Preferred qualifications:

- Familiarity and/or experience with writing add-ons and/or patches for Mozilla Firefox or other web browsers.

- Familiarity with compiling software for the Android platform.

- Familiarity with browser fingerprinting defenses

- Familiarity with Firefox's internal architecture, including its use of multiple processes and sandboxing.

- Be intensely creative yet also ruthlessly pragmatic in your thinking.

- Know enough about networking to be able to visualize what HTTP 1.1 looks like on the wire while encapsulated within Tor's network protocol.

- Open-source experience: contributed significant chunks of code to multiple open-source projects in the past.

- Familiarity with distributed version control systems, including Git.

- Genuinely be excited about Tor and its values!


For a more detailed understanding of the full breadth and depth of the work you'd be doing, have a look at The Design and Implementation of the Tor Browser, especially The Design Requirements section at https://spec.torproject.org/torbrowser-design#DesignRequirements.

Academic degrees are great, but not required if you have the right experience!

## How to Apply

To apply, submit a cover letter, your CV/resume (including three professional references), and a link to a code sample or some non-trivial software project you have significantly contributed to. In your cover letter, please include the reason you want to work at the Tor Project.

IMPORTANT: Please email application materials in PDF format to job-browser at torproject dot org with “Browser Developer” in the subject line.

The Tor Project's workforce is smart, committed, and hard working. We currently have a paid and contract staff of around 24 developers and operational support people, plus many thousands of volunteers who contribute to our work. The Tor Project is funded in part by government research and development grants, and in part by individual, foundation, and corporate donations.

Salary for this position depends on experience and there is voluntary opt-in salary transparency for employees and contractors.

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 Year's, when the office is closed), and flexible work schedule. Insurance benefits vary by employment status and country of residence.

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