Join our Team

Greetings,

 We’re a small company—we believe in what we’re doing and in making a difference. If you’re mid-career and looking to be on the cutting edge, to get in on the ground floor, and really contribute—check out our open positions above.

Our goal is to tame”wild content”.  By “wild content,” we mean the millions of websites, blogs, images, reports, archives, data, and other items that are scattered across countless locations and formats and are in danger of disappearing.  And by “taming,” we mean making all of it useful, so that it can be reliably taught, researched, cited, shared, and saved. 

We’ll meet our goal only if we have the right people working with us.  Here’s what makes us a special group to join:

 1.     We do great work and we’re passionate about it !  If we do our work well, we’ll add millions of items that almost no one uses today to the daily workflows of teachers, researchers, and students.  We’ll help policy makers make better policies. We’ll help disenfranchised voices to be heard.  If you think this sort of thing is cool, then you’re right for us.

2. We listen to and engage with our customers. We serve our customers by engaging with them, listening to them and making sure we fulfill their needs. Our projects, products and services are co-created and shaped by them.

3.     We’re creative, and we innovate. Collectively, we’ve got over 200 years of experience in publishing and library innovation. We’ve been involved in scads of firsts—from the first CD-ROMs to the first Web databases and beyond. We like to be the earliest and the best.

4.     We’re agile.  We know that speed counts. We won’t make you do 30-page business plans that need to get reviewed endlessly by management, simply because “that’s the way it’s done.” We believe in getting on with things.

5.     We’re professional, but we’re not corporate. If you expect business-class travel, five-star hotels, and a big office… then we’re probably not right for you. We favor substance over style.

6.     We believe in open communication.  We like people to tell it as it is, even if it’s a bit uncomfortable, as long as it’s with the right intention. “Say what you mean, mean what you say.” Those who speak out are welcome.

7.     We let people take ownership, no matter what their role. We want people who will step up and make things happen.

8. We’re accountable.  We nearly always deliver on promises, because we know it matters to the whole team and our mission. We track our commitments—not to praise or shame people, but to spot roadblocks that might be getting in the way of our shared goals. We want to know: Was my original ask clear? Did the other person understand it? What was in the way? We’re not awkward about asking colleagues where they are on things and if they’ll deliver on time, because we do it with respect and affection, and because we may be able to help them if we know what’s blocking them.

9.     We’re a diverse, functional team.  We’re people across the gender spectrum, young and old, operating from five continents and eight time zones—different as individuals and yet a close-knit group. Every morning, we check in and let everyone know how we’re doing, what we’re doing, and why it makes us feel good.  We spur one another on to the small daily individual achievements that add up to great achievements.

10.     We’re always learning.  We’re humble and not defensive. We’re good at what we do, but we know that there are always ways to improve. (Send your comments about this letter, please, to the e-mail below).

 If this sounds like you, please check out our job listings and get in touch!

Best wishes,

Stephen Rhind-Tutt
President, Coherent Digital, LLC
rhindtutt@coherentdigital.net