This Week in Jobs: Being a Helper Edition

Editor’s note: Every week we ship an email newsletter featuring the region’s most exciting career opportunities. We’ve lovingly called it This Week in Jobs (aka TWIJ — “twidge.”). Below is this week’s edition. Here’s the last one we published; it’s meant to live in your inbox. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Get involved

Protests have filled city streets in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. Whether you’re able to join the demonstrations or not, there’s plenty you can do to help fight systemic racism: donating to causes supporting protesters and anti-racism efforts, engaging in substantive discussions with friends and family about these issues, patronizing Black-owned restaurants and businesses.

In the workplace, advocate to make yours a truly diverse and supportive environment, especially in our tech communities — where Black employees make up less than 6% of the workforce at the biggest employers. Engaging may be uncomfortable, but it’s necessary; silence is violence.

The News

The top ranks of America’s tech companies and organizations are overwhelmingly white. It’s an organizational standard ripe for change — one that those same white leaders must take responsibility for leading. That means engaging with race and inequity in the workplace: creating space for frank dialogue, getting out of the way, listening, reflecting, and acting. The work is difficult, the work is vital. There are plenty of experts who can help, and we, too, have a few tips to help you get started.

“Human resources”: If you think about it, it sounds like the sort of thing Agent Smith would say to describe the machines’ source of power, or how the makers of Soylent Green might characterize their (locally sourced!) secret ingredient. As companies think more about “culture” and “brand” and the “workplace experience,” maybe “people operations” is the better term — even if it also sounds like the ultimate euphemism for what psychologists do. For all things HR, our sixth episode of The TWIJ Show dives right in.

With cities starting to cautiously reopen, restaurants, stores and other public spaces are grappling with how to design for social distancing. If you’ve got an idea for how to do it, Baltimore’s COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Initiative and the Baltimore Development Corporation are holding a competition through Wednesday seeking “tactical concepts for innovative urban public space configurations for maintaining safety and social distancing while patronizing businesses.” (Kudos to Baltimore for somehow working “tactical” into a design competition.) The organizers are making $50,000 in stipends available.

The Jobs

D.C.

• Morning Consult is hiring a Director, Product to drive the development of the news outfit’s data-driven products. You’ll work side by side with designers, data scientists and engineers to help define Morning Consult’s strategic roadmap.
• doxo is seeking a “high energy” Senior Software Engineer with experience building scalable web applications.
• CoStar Group is looking for a Product Manager, Lands, to develop new software product concepts, designs, and enhancements to existing product designs.

Maryland

• Protenus, which is paving the way in healthcare for a comprehensive approach to compliance analytics, is hiring a VP of Engineering in Baltimore. You’ll get to join, ahem, chief people officer Megan Emhoff, who appeared on The TWIJ Show to talk about the transition from human resources.
• SmartLogic in Baltimore is hiring a Sales and Software Engineer.
• 14West in Baltimore is seeking a MarTech Developer.

Virginia

• The Herndon-based cybersecurity firm Expel, which recently raised $50 million in a Series D, is hiring for a range of positions, from multiple roles in Customer Experience to Engineering, Marketing, and Sales.
• RoboMQ in McLean is hiring a Software Engineer.
• Fors Marsh Group in Arlington is looking for a Principal Software Engineer.

Remote

• Prodigi Group, which helps companies selling personalized products simplify their supply-chains and maximise their profits, is hiring a Remote Senior C-Sharp Developer.
• The Night Sky is seeking a Remote Javascript Developer
• Defiant, Inc., a leader in WordPress security, is looking for a Remote Senior PHP Developer.

The End

It’s okay to feel uncomfortable. Get involved, be safe and good luck on the job hunt.