CS Taxonomy and Ontology Manager

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.

A Typical Day: 

Management

• 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

General

• 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

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

• 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

  Education & Experience

  • 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)

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.