Taxonomist

Details

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.

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.

Role overview

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. The Taxonomist reports directly to the 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.), the Taxonomist performs ongoing taxonomy maintenance, designs new solutions and protocols for burgeoning use cases, and supports strategic initiatives related to taxonomy, ontology, information architecture, and metadata management.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the 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 Service Enablement teams (Business Process Improvement, Change Management, Service Operations) to design and maintain Taxonomy project intake and change log tracking
• Manage data sets and preparation for imports/exports and custom reporting for stakeholders
• Create and maintain 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 (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 across content strategy needs related to information architecture, metadata management, indexing projects, or taxonomy management
• Work with product teams to build frontend and backend taxonomies for cataloging assets
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to define use cases for taxonomy/ontology initiatives
• Communicate complex technical information clearly to technical and non-technical audiences
• Identify opportunities for improvement and recommend process maturation
• Evangelize the importance of semantic data work

Requirements / 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 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
• Proven ability to present complex technical information clearly to a range of 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 and ability to tackle complex, open-ended challenges
• Ability to work 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

Location

This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed with your manager. While Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you which states you are eligible to work from.

How we'll take care of you / Compensation

The actual base pay is dependent upon factors such as training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. This role may be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

Pay Range

$139,000—$163,000 USD

Inclusion & accommodations

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible and strives to provide a disability-inclusive application and interview process. If you require reasonable accommodation to submit an application, contact [email protected] with your full name, the role you’re applying for, and the accommodation needed.