Taxonomist

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join

As part of the Community Support team, you’ll collaborate within a dynamic group that manages foundational semantic data controls and consults with cross-functional stakeholders across Airbnb. Our team partners closely with Product, Engineering, Data, and Content teams to build, align, and refine classifications and keywords powering platforms like Atrium, Airbnb bot, Contentstack, and more. Working together, we foster an environment of ongoing learning and innovation, supporting initiatives from regulatory compliance campaigns to data platform enhancements, all while maintaining strong relationships with teams in Supply and global Community Support

The Difference You Will Make

The Taxonomist will work with Airbnb’s Taxonomy and Ontology Manager to shape and manage scalable taxonomies, ontologies, and other structured data within Airbnb’s Community Support (CS) business. Taxonomist reports directly to Taxonomy and Ontology Manager and sits within the Content and Knowledge Management team (CKM). Working in close collaboration with cross-functional partners across CS (operations, engineering, product, research, data science and analytics, etc.), Taxonomist performs ongoing taxonomy maintenance, designs new solutions and protocols for burgeoning use cases, and supports as needed to execute strategic initiatives related to taxonomy, ontology, information architecture, and metadata management.

A Typical Day

Collaborate with Airbnb’s Taxonomy and Ontology Manager in the development of long-term, sustainable semantic data strategies

Support day-to-day operations for ongoing taxonomy governance across Community Support use cases

Coordinate with other Service Enablement teams (Business Process Improvement, Change Management, Service Operations) to design and maintain Taxonomy project intake for work requests and transparent change log tracking

Manage data sets and preparation for imports / exports / custom reporting for stakeholders

Create and maintain clear documentation for training and governance related to information management activities

Work with data science, analytics, and insights teams to develop and improve machine learning models and labeling practices in support of various applications (e.g. AI tooling and issue detection)

Collaborate with cross-functional partners to triage data issues related to taxonomy

Reconcile disparate taxonomies and recommend semantic structures for unstructured data sets

Assist CKM team across various content strategy needs related to information architecture, metadata management, indexing projects, or taxonomy management

Work with product teams to build comprehensive frontend and backend taxonomies for cataloging assets in a natural, interpretable manner

Collaborate with subject matter experts across various domains to define appropriate use cases for taxonomy/ontology initiatives

Communicate complex technical information clearly and effectively to a multi-functional audience

Identify opportunities for improvement and make recommendations to mature processes

Foster communication, cooperation, and alignment among distributed internal stakeholders

Evangelize the importance of semantic data work

Your Expertise

Experience Developing Taxonomies, Ontologies, Thesauri, And Controlled Vocabularies

Experience improving, maturing, and iterating on existing information structures, including consolidation or reconciliation across data sets, crosswalking metadata schemas, and implementation of intellectual control

Experience With Large-scale Data Migration Projects

Ability to lead and design new projects from conception to completion, prioritizing accessible user experiences and sustainable governance

Administrator-level experience with semantic management tools, content or collections management systems, digital asset management systems, or other relational databases used to maintain authority files and metadata

Experience collaborating with systems administrators and/or vendors to troubleshoot issues and develop tools with end-users in mind

Expertise in applying best practice principles of metadata, cataloging, and terminology management to real-world use cases

Proven ability to present complex technical information in a clear and concise way to a range of technical and non-technical audiences

Exceptional written and verbal communication and negotiation skills (English); technical writing experience a plus

Experience With Or Ability To Learn Sql And Sparql Queries To Support Data Analysis

Familiarity with XML, RDF/RDFS, SKOS, OWL, and general semantic / linked data standards

Strong analytical thinking skills and ability to grapple with complex, open-ended challenges

Ability to work and make decisions independently, with minimal supervision, in a fast-paced, virtual environment

Ability to manage deadlines and expectations across multiple stakeholder groups and priorities

3+ years of relevant work experience in a leadership role

Master’s Degree in Library Science or Information Management or demonstrated equivalent qualifications

Your Location

This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity.

Click here for the up-to-date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list

If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at:

reasonableaccommodations@airbnb.com

. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process.

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.

How We'll Take Care Of You

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

Pay Range

$139,000

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$163,000 USD