CS Taxonomy and Ontology Manager

Airbnb

7d•Remote

About The Position

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: The Content and Knowledge Management (CKM) team writes, edits, and manages support content and metadata that are used by Airbnb customers, CS and GO ambassadors, consuming applications, and other audiences. The Help Center, Knowledge Center (as well as localized versions for CJK), Macros repository, and Contact Reasons taxonomy are some of the primary knowledge bases CKM maintains. The Difference You Will Make: The Taxonomy / Ontology Manager (TOM) will guide Airbnb’s Community Support (CS) Taxonomy team to shape and manage scalable taxonomies, ontologies, and other structured data. This role reports directly to the head of Content and Knowledge Management (CKM) and sits within the Service Enablement organization for CS. Working in close collaboration with cross-functional partners, the TOM supports the taxonomist / ontologist function both in CS and across the company, providing guidance and strategic thought leadership across taxonomy, ontology, metadata management, information architecture, and knowledge modeling needs.

Requirements

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
Applied knowledge of ontological grounding for RAG/model performance
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
Passion for Airbnb’s mission and deep empathy for our diverse communities
5+ years relevant work experience in a leadership role
Advanced degree in Computer Science, Information Science, Library Science, Information Management, Computational Linguistics, or a related field (or demonstrated equivalent qualifications)

Responsibilities

Collaborate with leadership in the development of long-term, sustainable strategic initiatives
Provide leadership, coaching, and professional guidance to Taxonomist / Ontologists
General people management and administrative activities as member of CKM and Service Enablement leadership teams
Lead strategy related to taxonomy, ontology, information architecture, metadata management, labeling/cataloging projects, and knowledge modeling within Airbnb’s CS organization
Consult with CS stakeholders to support Knowledge Management (KM) strategy, grounded LLMs, and data-driven community support
Collaborate closely with leadership external to CS (Data Management, Infra, etc.) to develop sustainable, scalable solutions for semantic data at Airbnb
Guide the development of the Taxonomist / Ontologist career function at Airbnb
Partner closely with Product / Eng to develop Airbnb’s enterprise Taxonomy / Ontology Platform
Represent Taxonomy / Ontology function at a leadership level
Support day-to-day operations for ongoing taxonomy and ontology governance across use cases
Work with product teams to build comprehensive frontend and backend taxonomies for cataloging assets in a natural, interpretable manner
Manage datasets and preparation of imports / exports / custom reporting for stakeholders
Reconcile disparate taxonomies and recommend semantic structures for unstructured data sets, whether discovered or predetermined
Create and maintain clear documentation for training and governance related to information management activities
Work with engineering, analytics, and insights teams to develop and improve machine learning models and labeling practices
Collaborate with cross-functional partners to triage data issues related to semantic data
Collaborate with subject matter experts across various domains to identify and define appropriate use cases for semantic data projects
Communicate complex technical information clearly and effectively to multi-functional audiences at varying levels of technical expertise or understanding
Identify opportunities for improvement and make recommendations to mature processes
Foster communication, cooperation, and alignment among distributed internal stakeholders
Evangelize the importance and value of semantic data work