Senior Computer Science Fellow null

Mozilla exists to protect and promote the Internet as a global public resource, open and accessible to all! As a critical part of this mission, the Mozilla Foundation invests in those at the frontlines of working to make the Internet more open, inclusive, decentralized, and secure. Through fellowships and awards, we support these leaders and amplify their important work on issues impacting the health of the internet.

The Fellowship

Mozilla is recruiting two Senior Fellows to work alongside staff and other Fellows as the Responsible Computer Science Challenge expands internationally; includes more cross-disciplinary teams; supports academic institutions, faculty, and students traditionally underrepresented in computing; incorporates Black scholarship; and works to ensure the students involved are not only receiving a computing education that questions normative design constraints and considers broader ethical questions but is sought after for their skills and training in the marketplace.  

This fully remote fellowship will give you the opportunity to contribute to Mozilla’s strategic efforts within the area of educating students about responsible computing. We’re looking for issue-area specialists with experience working in or in collaboration with a combination of the following: pedagogy, ethics, humanistic studies, technology industry, academia, and government. The fellowship also includes opportunities to develop and contribute to work products like the Teaching Responsible Computing Playbook, supporting the online repository of content, and contributing to various writing products like op-eds and White Papers.

The Broad Vision

In 2020, Mozilla launched a multi-year strategy focused on advancing Trustworthy AI globally. Artificial Intelligence has immense potential to improve our quality of life. But integrating AI into the platforms and products we use every day can equally compromise our security, safety, and privacy. Our research finds that the way AI is currently developed poses distinct challenges to human well-being. Unless critical steps are taken to make these systems more trustworthy, AI runs the risk of deepening existing inequalities. One of those critical steps is transforming how we teach computing and train technologists that go on to build large scale systems that might include AI. 

Mozilla’s Responsible Computer Science Challenge is one initiative underway aimed at helping developers of technology think critically about their work. Engineers, product managers, designers, and other members of the cross-functional teams building technology wield a great degree of decision-making power. There are many initiatives that support various aspects of the technology development cycle. The Responsible Computer Science Challenge aims to transform how we teach about what goes into building the technology and how integral ethics are to the process.

Responsibilities and Deliverables

Over the course of the fellowship, you will work closely with Mozilla staff to:

• Bring experience and perspective in computing education that integrates ethics into the core curriculum
• Support the design of initiatives and events that will engage, fund, and grow the Global Responsible Computing Community of Practice
• Broaden the conversation about equity, justice, fairness, ethics, society and humanity throughout tech by helping to facilitate presentations and conversations with grantees and leaders in the tech industry
• Provide communications guidance and thought leadership as a representative of Mozilla
• Document and share knowledge internally at Mozilla and externally with the broader ecosystem
• Facilitate, document, and publish works like curricula, guides, blog posts, and white papers to enable the spread and scale of the concepts and materials produced by the responsible computing community 
• Build an intentional community around ethics, education and responsible computing with Mozilla awardees, staff, fellows, and partners, taking into account the motivations of each group
• Be a voice for and amplify the conversation about ethical computer science education beyond Mozilla’s grantees through speaking engagements and conferences
• Drive efforts to share the results of the Challenge widely and to galvanize tech industry and computer science leaders to advocate for ethical CS education
• Convene, facilitate, or curate adjacent networks as appropriate (academia, the tech industry, etc.) and integrate these into community events and core programming like MozFest

Fellowship Criteria

Your application should demonstrate:

• Experience + Impact 
  • proven impact in responsible computing education in the US and/or Eastern/Southern Africa that demonstrates a deep understanding of what it means to inspire change at a systemic level
  • an in-depth understanding of and/or background in pedagogy, ethics, humanities+technology, the tech industry, and government as related to responsible computing

• Collaboration + Communication
  • a keen understanding of the ecosystem of computing and academia, and how they relate to the tech industry
  • strong reach in their communities, and a network of partners and collaborators in fields such as ethics, humanistic studies, computing, and working with collaborative funders
  • experience and commitment to bolstering Black scholarship (for US-focused candidates)
  • experience working in interdisciplinary, collective, and/or intersectional ways to make progress toward a shared goal
  • the ability to work on diverse and geographically distributed teams and across cultures
  • experience in public speaking and presenting your work in conference settings
  • ability to pair subject matter expertise and research with execution in order to launch programs and related work products

• Leadership + Initiative
  • a facilitative leadership style and demonstrated skills in community building
  • the ability to work in a self-directed manner to achieve agreed goals and outcomes
  • experience working virtually with a high level of autonomy
  • Commitment to Working Open
  • knowledge and examples of open documentation and collaborative approach to research/project build
  • a commitment to working towards a healthy, open internet - and to open source as a way to shift power to be more equitable

Compensation and Benefits

Fellowships fall outside of Mozilla’s staff compensation program. All Fellows receive a competitive stipend and benefits to support healthcare, mental wellness, and child care. Fellowship compensation is considered a contribution for the benefit of an individual to aid in the pursuit of that individual’s own study or research and may be higher or lower than a local market.

The Mozilla Foundation is dedicated to fair and equitable compensation. As part of our commitment to equity, we are currently reviewing compensation systems across the organization, and that includes fellowship stipends. We are also working towards greater transparency and hope to make more information available in the future. We are happy to answer individual questions about the fellowship stipend and benefits during the interview process. 

Benefits

All fellows receive benefits to support healthcare, mental wellness, and child care. If you are located in the U.S. or Canada, you would be added to Mozilla’s healthcare plan and global benefits programs. If outside those jurisdictions, you would receive compensation to cover benefits (such as healthcare, mental health, and child care) in your salary rate.

Details about benefits specific to your location can be discussed in the interview process if your application is successful.

Timeline

Full-time, 12 months fixed term. Arrangements at 75% time (part-time) can be considered.

Part-time and full-time fellowship commitments are invited, especially where a part-time arrangement gives you an opportunity to serve without stepping away from current ongoing professional or personal commitments. Compensation and benefits are adjusted for part-time fellowships.

Eligibility and Requirements

All applications must be in English.