Software Developer (Contractor: Dangerzone) Part-time

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting, defending and empowering public-interest journalism, is looking for a part-time software developer to improve Dangerzone, a tool for sanitizing documents in electronic file formats.

Scope of Work

• Make technical improvements to the Dangerzone software in coordination with its Engineering Manager, including but not limited to:
  - Day-to-day maintenance tasks
  - Bugfixes for known issues
  - Improvements to test coverage and test automation
  - User experience improvements
  - Architectural changes (e.g., in-place updates of Docker images)
• Review code contributions by volunteers and engage with upstream and related open source projects
• Assess CVEs that may affect Dangerzone’s dependencies
• Support integration with the Qubes OS-based SecureDrop Workstation
• Participate in needs-finding research with journalists and other newsroom staff
• Manage Dangerzone releases across supported platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux and Qubes OS)

Desired qualifications

• Strong experience working on Python-based software projects
• 3+ years experience as a software engineer, including experience working with container runtimes (Docker, runc, podman, etc.)
• Familiarity with virtualization in general and Qubes OS in particular is a plus
• Experience contributing to open source projects is a plus
• Experience working with UI/UX designers is a plus
• Experience working with GUI toolkits (Qt, GTK, etc.) is a plus
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Term of Contract

The contract will commence on a mutually agreeable date no later than April 22, 2024 for an initial duration of 6 months, with the possibility of renewal.

Payments and Schedule

The contractor will be paid at a rate of $70/hour, up to 30 hours/week, invoiced monthly. The contractor will be solely responsible for paying any and all taxes incurred as a result of their compensation. Please indicate your availability in your response to this RFP.

At least 2 hours overlap with 9-5 US Eastern Time working hours are required. Dangerzone team meetings currently take place on Thursdays at 12 PM ET.