Join the Community Package Team
The package ecosystem has always been a vital part of Umbraco. It has seen some major changes over the years, like the move to the NuGet package format and listing packages on the new Marketplace. We are still evolving and improving our package ecosystem, and we would love to do it together with you!
Many exciting things are awaiting the new community Package Team and you could join:
- When we discover, discuss, and try out new and updated ways to extend the CMS, especially with the new Backoffice that’s getting introduced in version 13;
- Help us figure out how we improve package telemetry and use it to enhance and share insights on how packages are used;
- Contribute with new ideas on how to keep improving the package developer experience, whether this could be in form of tooling, templates or writing some kick-ass documentation;
- Help to decide what are absolutely the best packages when we celebrate the Umbraco Awards at this year's Codegarden
- And many, many other things!
The team mission
We help Umbraco users expand the functionality of Umbraco by making package development, distribution, and usage simple and fulfilling.
What that means in practice is that we:
- Create or help create tutorials, guides, best practices, documentation, and templates to ease the creation and use of packages;
- Participate in discussions and debates about ensuring the package format evolves with the changes to the CMS;
- Contribute with feedback to evolve the Umbraco package ecosystem and the Marketplace;
- Evaluate the nominated packages for the yearly Umbraco Awards;
- Promote and celebrate packages in the Umbraco ecosystem when we participate in hackathons, panel discussions, meetups, and conferences/festivals.
Team steward
Your team steward will be me, Umbraco HQ’s Ronald Barendse.
Ever since starting my first Umbraco project in 2017, the possibilities of extending the (world's best 😁) CMS have always been a large interest of mine. So shortly after joining Umbraco HQ in 2021, I took the opportunity to join the community Package Team as steward. I received a very warm welcome from the team that, at that time, already existed for 2 years (making opening up the team for new applications long overdue!).
”Assistant steward” Bolette Kern, another Umbraco HQ’er and Product Owner on the DXP team, helps with the HQ communication, blog posts, and newsletters, and collects feedback on HQ initiatives on packages/integrations and Marketplace.
What do we expect from you?
First of all, to be an Umbraco community team member we expect you to follow our code of conduct - but there is nothing in the code of conduct that is not natural to every Umbraco enthusiast with an umbra heart.
The community team meets up every second week in a 1-hour update meeting, to talk about what has been going on since last time, sharing news and ideas from the team and HQ. Besides the 1-hour meeting the team will start up projects to support the team mission and the time spent on these projects can be individually planned.
Your tenure will be one year, after which we open up for applications again, and you are of course welcome to reapply 🎉
You don’t have to be a package developer - in fact, most of the current team members created their first packages as members of the team! User experience and insights will be just as important, as are fresh eyes and minds.
The team as a whole is involved in the Umbraco Awards - originally initiated by the team in 2021 as Umbraco Package Awards - as jury members and if you are up for it, even award show presenters.
What kind of folks are we looking for?
Enthusiastic and friendly folks! Great if you’ve created packages already, and awesome if you would like to give talks and workshops to promote package development. But don’t shy away if you’d just like to learn more about the whole package ecosystem in Umbraco and contribute to future developments in this area!
What’s in it for you?
- You will join a lovely team of very professional Umbraco enthusiasts and HQ members who will work with you and support you
- You are directly influencing and advising the direction of the Umbraco ecosystem as it evolves to new heights 🚀
- You will have the opportunity to give feedback on new initiatives from Umbraco HQ in their pursuit of simplifying contributing to the Umbraco ecosystem
- You will have deep insight into all the ways the CMS can be extended. Also, you will gain input and a better understanding of how to create, maintain and distribute packages, so you can then help introduce other Umbraco enthusiasts to the beautiful world we call the Umbraco ecosystem 🌍
- You will receive relevant Umbraco training as needed for the team
- Once a year you will be invited to join us in Odense, Denmark on a 2-day retreat specifically for all of our community team members (travel/lodging/food covered by Umbraco HQ)
Convince your boss!
While we would love it if you want to become a part of the team in your spare time, we also want to be respectful and sensitive to your work-life balance.
In our opinion, the ideal situation would be for your employer to sponsor your team membership by setting aside those hours for you to dedicate to your work on the community Package team.
If your employer is already a Gold Partner then they automatically qualify for Contributing Gold Partner status if they set aside 2 hours per week for participation in the Package team.
Additionally, your participation in the Package team benefits them directly because you:
- Learn all about how to extend the functionality within the CMS or provide functionality via a third-party service API. Get more experience based on how other Umbraco enthusiasts have tackled packages and integrations. You become their leading expert in the Umbraco ecosystem while helping others with their packages
- Depending on your current training level and additional training we offer, they might qualify for a certified partnership
- As you’re building your network of contributors, this leads to you having important connections to people in the community to talk to about opportunities in the Umbraco ecosystem
- Having direct access to the Umbraco HQ members is a bonus (that we encourage you not to abuse ;))
- Bragging rights; your employer is very welcome to boast about them sponsoring a part of the great work in growing the contributor community and making the new Umbraco ecosystem even better.
How do you apply?
To apply to be a member of the Package Community Team, please fill in the application form so we can get to know you better. After filling in the form we’ll contact you to make an appointment for a short interview (max 30 min.)
Do you know someone who should apply?
If you know someone who might be interested or is the perfect candidate then why not let them know? Send them a link to this post and encourage them to apply for the best UMBRACO PACKAGE COMMUNITY TEAM!!! 🎆
