adrian holovaty

March 8, 2007, 9:08 PM ET

Work with me at washingtonpost.com

Attention, Web developers! We're hiring somebody to work with me at washingtonpost.com.

We're looking for somebody who is really good at making dynamic Web applications, on deadline. You're a great candidate if:

• You have significant experience building database-driven Web sites.
• You pick up new technologies very quickly, enjoy learning new things and enjoy opportunities to apply your new knowledge.
• You're great at cleaning digital information -- parsing data feeds, screen scraping, etc.
• You enjoy automating things to save people time.
• You have experience using Django. Ruby on Rails experience is fine, too, if you're willing to unlearn all that black magic. ;-)
• You have a solid understanding of relational databases and experience with open-source databases, particularly PostgreSQL. (MySQL experience is fine, too.)
• You are experienced using (X)HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ajax...yadda yadda yadda.

You get bonus points if:

• You've contributed to open-source projects.
• You've launched a side project (or two) on the Web.
• You have a weblog.
• You have journalism experience.
• You are passionate about improving the world through information.

In no particular order, here are some examples of the types of sites you'll be building:

• John McCain's campaign contributions
• Faces of the Fallen
• Mixed Messages
• President Bush Latin America trip map
• Clinton's Golden Voice
• U.S. Congress votes database
• Video Game Reviews database

It's a mix of short-deadline projects, long-term projects and general site improvements. There's enough variety to keep it interesting. In most cases, you'll be expected to build a site in a matter of hours or days, not weeks or months. It's an exciting, fast-paced environment.

Why should you take this job?

• Fun and freedom -- Building Web apps with Django is fun, and you'll have significant say in what your apps should do and how they should work. You won't be a cog in the wheel; in many cases, the development team will be you, or you and I. No requirements documents, if I can help it.
• Visibility -- Your work will be seen by hundreds of thousands of people -- maybe more -- around the world.
• Cool tools -- You get to use open-source technologies such as Python, Django and PostgreSQL, and get paid for it.
• Great people -- Since Day One, I've been continually impressed with the talent and dedication of Washington Post employees. This is the cream of the crop.
• Great company -- C'mon, it's the Washington Post, one of the most highly reputable news organizations in the world. The Post is, hands down, the most innovative large newspaper company around. You won't find our killer combination -- dedication to quality journalism and willingness to innovate -- at any other company of our size in this industry.

Journalism experience is not required. A formal computer-science background is not required. I'm much more interested in seeing your work than reading bullets on a resume.

Also, you don't necessarily have to be a designer. Our design team makes things look good.

The job is located in the Washington, D.C., area -- technically, Arlington, Virginia. The washingtonpost.com office is near the Court House Metro stop on the Orange Line.

If you think you're a good fit, contact me. Send some links to work you've done, along with a resume.