About Pressbooks
What is Pressbooks?
Pressbooks is open-source book-publishing software founded by Hugh McGuire in 2011 in Montreal. The company builds tools that universities and educators use to create interactive web books, PDFs for print, and ebooks from a single source — with a particular focus on Open Educational Resources (OER) and free digital textbooks. The software has been used to publish thousands of free and openly licensed educational books.
As a self-sustaining open-source / SaaS business, Pressbooks partners with thousands of individuals and hundreds of institutions in Canada, the United States, and beyond. Most clients are universities and other higher-education institutions using Pressbooks to power their publishing and free digital textbook programs. After many years as CEO, Hugh McGuire stepped into an Executive Chairman role in August 2024; Başak Büyükçelen took over as CEO that September.
Where will I work?
Pressbooks is entirely remote, with team members working across Canada, the United States, and beyond. The company's registered mailing address is at 5333 Avenue Casgrain (also referenced as 5455 De Gaspe Avenue Suite 710), Montreal, Quebec. The team meets monthly via all-hands video calls.
What is the Pressbooks team like?
The Pressbooks team is small — roughly 17 people across executives, technology, sales, customer experience, and design. Key leaders include CEO Başak Büyükçelen, VP Strategic Engagement & Growth Amanda Coolidge, VP Technology Christopher Murtagh, and founder Hugh McGuire (Executive Chairman). Equity, inclusion, and diversity are stated as core values, and every employee receives training on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Developing Cross-Cultural Intelligence.
Pressbooks is certified by Great Place to Work® with a 93% Trust Index© Score (the certification threshold is 65%). The hiring process is transparent and includes an initial screening call, a full interview with the department head and peers, and a culture interview with colleagues from another department.
Work-Life Balance
Pressbooks operates a permanent 4-day work week (32 hours) — every Friday off — since September 2022. Employees receive 4 weeks of vacation plus 1 additional week off during the December holiday season, and unlimited sick days. The team is explicitly encouraged to unplug during weekends and vacations; staff are asked to uninstall Slack from their phones to avoid off-hours messages. Weekly anonymous burnout and engagement check-ins are run via Slack.
Perks and Benefits
- Permanent 4-day work week (32 hours, every Friday off)
- 4 weeks vacation plus an additional week off during the December holiday season
- Unlimited sick days
- Extended health care including dental and vision coverage
- 24/7 telehealth services
- Employee assistance program providing legal, financial, and career counseling
- Yearly tech allowance to keep equipment up-to-date
- Yearly wellness allowance for physical and mental health
- Yearly book allowance
- One-time work-from-home stipend
- Udemy Business accounts for all employees
- Memberships to discount platforms