Information Architect, Conversational Interfaces

<p>Our new Architect will focus on designing and building the infrastructure of our new Conversational Interface platform ensuring it is user-friendly, scalable, performant, adaptable to future Listen products and multi-device compatible. This is a role for someone who is analytical, constantly searching for answers and improvements.</p>

Toronto, ON

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,who you are,what's in it for you?,design,communicate,continuous improvement,focus on the experience,the education,the knowledge,the passion,the desire to learn,the empathy and the vision,the communication skills,the collaborative and detailed approach,the agile experience,the hands-on expertise,the extra knowledge

Mid Level

Overview: <p>CBC Digital 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> <p><strong>The opportunity</strong></p> <p>At CBC Digital Audio Products, we are exploring voice-activated interactions as a new way to connect our audience with the content they want to hear. This is a 12-month contract opportunity as the first Information Architect working on our Conversational Interface Platform. This is one of our most innovative endeavours - one that could truly redefine how Canadians interact with all of CBC, not just Audio.</p> <p>From Amazon&rsquo;s Alexa to Google Home. From lesser known players to the Apple&rsquo;s Siri-hosting Home Pod. The future is in conversational interfaces and the Internet of Things. As the original Radio broadcaster for Canada, we are getting ready to step into this brand new space and lead the way Canadians engage with the CBC.</p> <p>Our new Architect will focus on designing and building the infrastructure of our new Conversational Interface platform ensuring it is user-friendly, scalable, performant, adaptable to future Listen products and multi-device compatible. This is a role for someone who is analytical, constantly searching for answers and improvements.</p> <p>This is an opportunity for an Architect who is confident in their capabilities, eager to innovate and open to learning. As a key member on this newly formed team, this is a chance to influence the direction of the product development and to have your voice heard. You will collaborate with the team and follow our product philosophy &ldquo;build-measure-learn.&rdquo;</p> <p>If you're passionate about Canada and you love technology, learning and bringing out the best in others, you&rsquo;ll love working at CBC.</p> <p><strong>Who you are and where are you now?</strong></p> <p>You are a Senior Developer looking to step up into an Architect role. You thrive in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team. You love experimenting with technologies and tools and you have the focus to use your acquired knowledge and build a product. You are looking for an opportunity to join a company with a purpose and with a commitment to supporting the career progression of their people. You want to make a positive impact as part of a high-end digital environment that supports tens of thousands of visitors signing on at once.</p> <p><strong>What&rsquo;s in it for you?</strong></p> <p><u>C</u>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.</p> <p><u>B</u>elonging. CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian institution. By joining our dynamic Digital team, you will be exposed to the best of all worlds. Corporate. Public. Startup. You will be part of a team that embraces diversity and at its core, truly cares about the country and the world.</p> <p><u>C</u>areer growth. CBC is fully invested in our people. Whatever it is you want to pursue whether it&rsquo;s a new programming language or a technical solution, whether it&rsquo;s expanding your Agile knowledge or building an audience-facing platform. We will provide you with the time, resources and championing that you need to keep your career here rewarding.</p>
Responsibilities: <p><strong>Our new Architect will:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Design VUI and Voice Recognition diagrams.</li> <li>Produce the right UX artifacts for every given design situation using rock-solid methods and techniques.</li> <li>Confidently explain design rationale in teaching sessions and executive-level reviews.</li> <li>Inform UX improvement based on experience, research, and analysis of information and data,</li> <li>Appreciate and pursue great end-to-end experiences, paying attention to flow, context, micro-interactions, performance, and change.</li> <li>Speak authoritatively on concepts of voice interaction design in daily iterations with product managers, engineers, and third-party partners.</li> <li>Track user statistics that can easily be accessed internally.</li> </ul>
Requirements: <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 knowledge. You understand the strategic importance of Conversational Interface and why we are placing so much emphasis on it.</li> <li>The passion. You enjoy the challenge of working with a complex technology stack while at the same time recognize the impacts of tech diversification and acquiring technical debt.</li> <li>The desire to learn. You thrive in an experimental and dynamic environment and enjoy the chance to learn new information, approaches, technologies in a short amount of time.</li> <li>The empathy and the vision. You understand the customer&rsquo;s business issues needs and how to design a solution that completely and accurately allows your customer to achieve their goals.</li> <li>The communication skills. You know how to help your audience, to listen and to communicate with the right level of detail.</li> <li>The collaborative and detailed approach. You can see the big picture and the details. You know how to start conversations in a timely manner, incorporate the opinions of others and work together to accomplish big tasks.</li> <li>The Agile experience. You believe in the Agile methodology but you are flexible and open to the real world twists and turns. You have an understanding of how to work with other delivery methods.</li> <li>The hands-on expertise. You have proven success in Application development, working your way up over the last 3 to 5 years. You have:</li> <li>Deep understanding of best practices for software design patterns and their application</li> <li>Exposure with cloud computing and big data</li> <li>Exposure to Rest API design and construction</li> <li>Design and development experience with authentication and single sign-on frameworks</li> <li>The extra knowledge. An understanding of accessibility standards and guidelines and digital Content Management Systems would be an asset.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Why join us?</strong></p> <p>CBC/Radio-Canada reflects the Canadian identity and promotes democracy. We are rooted in the communities we serve and committed to sharing stories as Canadians live them, each and every day. We strive to speak in the voices of the country and support social and economic innovation. We live these external values. They are the foundation of our employee culture. A diverse culture of collaboration, learning and continuous improvement.</p> <p>Collaboration. We follow lean startup principles and use an Agile approach. 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. Our team members are given opportunities to collaborate cross-functionally across multiple projects.</p> <p>Learning. From simply buying a book or recommending a course to one-on-ones, our leadership team is focused on creating an atmosphere where people feel fulfilled. We embrace experimentation as a means to learn.</p> <p>Continuous improvement. What can you innovate in 8 hours a week? Our Digital department at CBC recognizes just how smart, creative and inventive our team members are. Everyone is given the opportunity to choose personal projects on which to spend 20% of their time. From prototyping new UI/UX for our content to setting up dev environments to experiment on. From reviewing Apple Developer videos and learning new programming languages to creating improved search functions for our media. From updating old code to building unit testing tools. Your 20% time is yours to allocate in a productive and professionally gratifying way.</p> <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 all or most 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. Apply here or learn more.</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>