Airbnb is hiring a CS Taxonomy and Ontology Manager

Airbnb is hiring a CS Taxonomy and Ontology Manager to shape and manage scalable semantic data structures for our Community Support (CS) organization and across the company. You will provide strategic leadership for taxonomy, ontology, metadata management, and knowledge modeling to enable grounded LLMs and data-driven support.

What You'll Do

• Collaborate with leadership in the development of long-term, sustainable strategic initiatives.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and professional guidance to Taxonomist/Ontologists.
• Lead strategy related to taxonomy, ontology, information architecture, metadata management, labeling/cataloging projects, and knowledge modeling.
• Consult with CS stakeholders to support Knowledge Management (KM) strategy, grounded LLMs, and data-driven community support.
• Collaborate closely with leadership external to CS to develop sustainable, scalable solutions for semantic data.
• 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.
• Manage datasets and preparation of imports/exports/custom reporting for stakeholders.
• Reconcile disparate taxonomies and recommend semantic structures for unstructured data sets.
• Create and maintain clear documentation for training and governance related to information management.
• 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 to identify and define appropriate use cases for semantic data projects.
• Communicate complex technical information clearly and effectively to multi-functional audiences.
• 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.

What We're Looking For

• 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).
• 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.
• 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.

Nice to Have

• 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.

Team & Environment

This role reports directly to the Head of Content and Knowledge Management (CKM) and sits within the Service Enablement organization for CS.

Benefits & Compensation

• Compensation: $160,000—$200,000 USD
• Employee Travel Credits
• Bonus eligibility
• Equity eligibility
• Benefits eligibility

Work Mode

This is a remote position open to candidates based in the United States.

Airbnb is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All individuals seeking employment at Airbnb are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic.