Backend Developer, Elections

CBC News is looking for a civic-minded Back-end developer to join our interactive team on an 18-month contract as we build a vision for how we cover elections.

Toronto, Ontario

CBC

<p>CBC Digital Operations is the country&rsquo;s biggest digital startup, taking on the challenges of innovating how media is made, sent and received. We are also part of Canada&rsquo;s oldest and truest broadcasting company. We are trying new things. We are growing. As an entity of our own. As a voice for our country. As a team.</p> <p>Digital is a part of our present and all of our future. CBC&rsquo;s strategy is focused on becoming a digital-first organization that provides a digital platform for storytellers. Our mission is to engage our audience with stories they care about.</p> http://www.cbc.ca

keywords: who we are,what we do,the opportunity,who you are,what's in it for you,test,collaborate,create,analyze,the education,the hands-on expertise,the technical knowledge,the passion,the boundless curiosity,the desire to learn,the communication skills,the creativity and adaptability

Contracted

Overview: <p><strong>What it&rsquo;s like working at CBC/Radio-Canada</strong></p> <p>At CBC/Radio-Canada, we create content that informs, entertains and connects Canadians on multiple platforms. Our successes and accomplishments are driven by embodying and upholding values, which include creativity, integrity, inclusiveness and relevance.</p> <p>In no other time has the immediate access to honest, unbiased and accurate information more important to our viewers than during the Federal and Provincial Elections. From Day One on the campaign trail to the debates; from the impact and opinion stories to the up-to-the-minute results from coast-to-coast-to-coast; the News Interactive team at CBC is there creating story treatments, data visualizations, interactive tools, maps, 3D models, graphic representations (and actual graphs too).</p> <p>We are a group of Developers working independently on projects and coming together in bursts of collaboration. This is a place of experimentation, trial and error and playful but complex creativity in our technical sandbox. We develop tools and templates that allow our journalists and producers to embed interactive, static, comparative or standalone visuals into their content on-the-fly. We are the team that works side-by-side with our national correspondents and foreign bureau journalists to design and develop highly customized, beautiful work to add to and enhance their stories.</p> <p><strong>The opportunity</strong></p> <p>CBC News is looking for a civic-minded Back-end developer to join our interactive team on an 18-month contract as we build a vision for how we cover elections. You will join a team that is developing a digital experience for municipal, provincial and federal elections, culminating with the Canadian federal election in October 2019.</p> <p>We are a team of developers, designers and journalists that is exploring new forms of storytelling and emerging digital platforms to help Canadians understand what is happening with their elections, how to participate and why it matters. Your ideas will help form our elections strategy. Canadians from all over will be watching and relying on your work.</p> <p><strong>Who you are</strong></p> <p>A Backend Developer, you are a highly technical person but you are also creative. You are looking for a contract opportunity where you can contribute to an interactive strategy and execute on the design and development of backend tools and technologies. You have a profound interest in keeping up with local, national and world news. You are intrigued and motivated to channel your skills into the visual storytelling of municipal, provincial and federal elections. You are comfortable working with hard deadlines and navigating the complexities of a large digital publisher, using established site-wide standards and systems.</p> <p><strong>What&rsquo;s in it for you</strong></p> <p><strong><u>C</u></strong>utting edge tech. CBC has more than 25 digital sites, all of which are mandated to reach Canadians online everywhere and every way, with a high emphasis on mobile devices. To achieve that goal, with no down-time, takes a robust infrastructure, powerful technologies, reliable solutions and rewarding work. React, Python, PHP, XML and Google Cloud are just part of our rich technology landscape. You will have the opportunity to try new things and to leverage new and existing tools.</p> <p><strong><u>B</u></strong>elonging. CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian institution. By joining our News Interactive team, you will be exposed to the best of all worlds. National. Global. Public. Startup. You will be part of a team that embraces diversity and at its core, truly cares about the country and the world. You will collaborate closely with the Broadcast teams and gain an insider&rsquo;s view into the Editorial side of the News platforms.</p> <p><strong><u>C</u></strong>areer growth. CBC is the most trusted and reliable news source to millions of Canadians at home and abroad. All of whom will be relying on your projects for lightweight, digestible, accurate information on the elections. This is a level of audience exposure and technical freedom you have never experienced before. Your abilities will be tested by a huge audience - our journalistic integrity hinges on your accuracy.</p>
Responsibilities: <p><strong>In this role you will:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Pitch, design, build, test and deploy the back-end solutions that will be the foundations for interactive and creative ways to tell election stories online.</li> <li>Inspire editorial staff to conceptualize their stories in formats they have yet to imagine.</li> <li>Help build storytelling tools, including but not limited to data-visualizations, infographics and embeddable content types not yet dreamed up.</li> <li>Write clean code so others can pick up where you left off.</li> <li>Estimate the effort and time required for implementation of products with a significant degree of accuracy as deadlines are often very hard.</li> <li>Perform thorough testing and QA checks, fix bugs as required.</li> <li>Work well on your own and with colleagues.</li> <li>Offer and accept critique constructively and graciously.</li> <li>Commit to extra hours during peak times like Election nights.</li> </ul>
Requirements: <p><strong>Why join us?</strong></p> <p>CBC/Radio-Canada reflects the Canadian identity and promotes democracy. We strive to represent the voices of the country and support social and economic innovation. Our values - collaboration, learning and continuous improvement- embody who we are as a people-focused, digital-forward employer.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Collaboration.</strong> Our dedicated people managers work closely with every individual to ensure we are leveraging their strengths, championing their ideas and supporting their pursuit of new skills and career progression.</p> <p><strong>Learning. </strong>This is a team focused on experimenting and creating; we are constantly learning new technologies and solving problems in innovative ways. This is an atmosphere where people feel fulfilled.</p> <p><strong>Continuous improvement. </strong>At CBC, we recognize just how smart, creative and inventive our team members are. We foster a culture of research, experimentation and innovation where you are encouraged to think of new ways to present election data and information, like conversational interfaces, chatbots, platform trackers and mediums we haven&rsquo;t even thought of yet!</p> <p><strong>What you bring:</strong></p> <ul> <li>The education. A Computer Science, Engineering degree or equivalent is preferred, but we know not everyone gains their programming skills this way.</li> <li>The hands-on expertise. You have hands-on professional experience developing large complex web-based applications with 2-3 years as a web developer in a media or content-led environment. You have strong backend development skills with database design, administration and analytics, XML and API development Bonus points for experience with the Python and PHP.</li> <li>The technical knowledge. You are familiar with UI/UX including cross-browser/platform compatibility, SEO, version control systems and release management. An understanding of accessibility standards and guidelines and digital Content Management Systems is an asset.</li> <li>The passion. You have a passion for information, news and technology. You are enthusiastic about the opportunity to link the pieces together.</li> <li>The boundless curiosity. You are driven to ask why and to solve problems. You can think up new ways of presenting data and telling stories online.</li> <li>The desire to learn. You have the ability to quickly adopt new technologies and respond to change by learning and adapting.</li> <li>The communication skills. You can effectively translate design and editorial requirements to a technical solution. You know how to listen and relay empathy and understanding for diverse perspectives. Your powers of observation help you understand your audience and communicate with the right level of detail. You are open to the ideas of others.</li> <li>The creativity and adaptability. You can adapt quickly, innovate solutions and embrace the new while accepting the ambiguous.</li> </ul> <p><strong>To apply:</strong></p> <p>Think this job is meant for you but worried you don&rsquo;t have it all? At CBC we know that not everyone takes the same path when it comes to building their skills. Hands-on experience, intelligence, innovation, a passion for learning and a team-focused approach can combine to form the best set of qualifications. If you feel you meet 70% &nbsp;of the qualifications we are seeking; and you are excited by the possibility of growing our company, take a chance and express your interest here.</p> <p>In becoming the leader in expressing Canadian culture and enriching democratic life, we need to be as diverse in every way as the country we serve, both within our workforce and on air. As an employer, we value equal opportunity and nurture an inclusive workplace where our individual differences are not only recognized and valued, but also extend to and pervade all the services we provide as Canada's public broadcaster.</p>