The VATSIM UK Web Services Team is made up of a small group of people that maintain and develop the online platforms for the Division. These systems are used by anyone that interacts with us; home members, visitors, staff and the public.

We don’t often open applications for people to join the team so if you have ever wanted to get involved in what we do, now is a great time to apply! We did open a similar vacancy in early 2021, but due to some matters outside of our control, we did not appoint someone from that pool of applicants. If you applied then, and remain interested, we'd love to hear from you.

About the role
We’re looking for someone to work closely with our existing team to help shape and build the future of our tools and platforms.

Here are some of the systems we manage, and the technologies they currently use:

• Core, a Laravel application with a front-end powered by Bootstrap
• UK Controller Plugin, a Laravel API paired with a C++ plugin for EuroScope
• CTS, a legacy PHP app built primarily using procedural code
• Events, a legacy PHP app built within its own custom framework
• Helpdesk, an instance of the popular open-source package, osTicket, with a custom authentication layer
• Community a forum powered by Invision Community
• Nexus, an exploratory project to begin review options to replace Core using Laravel, Tailwind CSS, Laravel Livewire and Alpine.js

Here are a few projects that our team have worked on recently and, if successful, examples of work you might do too:

• Integrate our training waiting list system in Core with our theory exam system in CTS, to provide teams managing those lists all of the information that they need in one place
• Automate the removal of ineligible members from our waiting list, utilising data we obtain from the VATSIM.net API
• Migrate intention codes for the UK Controller Plugin from the plugin itself, to the API, to allow the Operations Team to manage any changes through an admin panel without knowledge of code
• Review and support contributions to our open source repositories
• Generating data extracts, directly from our database, to help other departments in the work that they do
• Helping users of our systems when they encounter an issue, explaining how to fix the issue with clear and simple language
• Coordinating with members of other departments to understand what changes could be made to our systems to help them and our members

About you
We’re looking for someone that will help us continue to maintain and develop our systems; you might be a UI/UX designer, an accessibility expert, a back-end developer, a front-end developer, a systems administrator, a support rep, a combination of the above or something we’ve missed entirely! We would love someone to take ownership of our user-facing support - but we don't want to see someone's ability to learn inhibited by this ownership.

More important than specific technical skills though is that you’re a strong problem solver who loves to learn - we’re not experts in everything and we don’t expect you to be either. You have the ability to work both independently and as part of a wider team.

You’re comfortable working in the open, knowing that any code contributions you make are likely to be within one of our many public repositories. You are aware that the code that you write will remain in use for years to come, and that many people will share the burden of its maintenance.

The roles of our existing team members are fairly loose. Everyone chips in to what they can, wherever they can. We have go-to people for certain areas, but there are no restrictions to where you can contribute - we want you to enjoy what you’re doing and we believe that the freedom to choose where you invest your time is important.

You will be a home member of VATSIM UK in good standing and have no serious disciplinary records - roles within the Web Service Team often require elevated access to our systems and thus demand a high level of trust.

How to apply
Applying is easy, simply head here: https://forms.gle/LjFziHHF5TfeSUxB6.

The form shouldn’t take you too long to fill in - we aren’t looking for the works of Shakespeare! After submitting the form, we’ll reach out to you and let you know what the next steps are. The process will take a few weeks from start to finish.

If it sounds like you will be a great fit for the team, we’ll reach out to you to schedule a quick chat. This won’t be a one-way interview, its a chance to ask questions and make sure that the role is right for you!

We do not have a specific closing date in mind. Whilst we don't envisage expanding the team ten-fold, we also haven't placed a limit on the number of people we'll bring into the team.

In the event that you are not successful, we have plenty of other ways that you can get involved. You may choose to join our Web Services Focus Group, get setup to contribute to one of our open source projects or help us to answer questions in the # web_help channel on Discord.

I’m happy to answer any questions you may have before applying - just email [email protected].