About Trestle
What is Trestle Collaborative?
Trestle Collaborative is a US nonprofit tech collaborative supporting progressive movements, democracy and electoral organising. The homepage states the mission verbatim: "Trestle Collaborative reinforces the technology scaffolding on which our 21st century movements for justice, equity and progress stand. We provide hands-on tech expertise so those building and using tech to organize can more powerfully drive change."
The about page expands: "We are a non-profit team of technologists — engineers, designers, product managers & digital security experts — who partner with leading movement groups and campaigns doing critical organizing work across the US. Trestle's goal is to strengthen social movement technology so organizers can go further, faster." The strategy operates on three levers (verbatim): "Shore up today's most critical tools: minimize bad experiences & raise the bar for what's possible. / Recruit and activate a diverse new generation of technologists. / Provide free & low-cost technology expertise to all corners of the movement at a moment's notice with a focus on BIPOC-lead organizations."
Impact stats (verbatim from /about): "Trestle teams have upgraded security, reliability, UX, & product strategy for over 65 critical technology programs across movement and democracy efforts. We've built a diverse network of 150 experienced technologists. Trestle has worked with 60+ partners spanning movement orgs, campaigns & tech builders." Areas of expertise: "Organization tech strategy / Product management / Application & digital security / Human-centered design / Software engineering / Product reliability."
Origin story (verbatim from /about): "During the 2020 election season, major technology outages created a crisis of confidence in political & movement tech — exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and a turn to fully digital organizing. A group of seasoned civic technologists stepped in to ensure that millions of organizers and volunteers were able to count on the technologies fueling their work in this unprecedented time. That project, known as Uptime2020, surfaced core dynamics that often lead to security, reliability and user experience shortcomings, and a need for on-going support to this challenging landscape. From Uptime, Trestle Collaborative emerged in response to these lessons."
Where will I work?
Trestle is fully remote across US time zones, with a Washington, DC mailing presence. Engagements are US-only.
What is the Trestle team like?
A small core team plus a network of 150+ technology advisors and consultants from private sector, political/progressive organising and public-interest start-ups. The team page lists a wide alumni roster verbatim: "Under our collective belts are leadership roles at a 2020 presidential campaign, a Presidential Innovation Fellowship, the U.S. Digital Service, Code for America, Planned Parenthood, the Washington Post, International Rescue Committee, Vanguard, NYU, Nava, mRelief, Propel, Buffer, and the Uptime2020 initiative." Trestle is explicitly women- and BIPOC-led: "We are a women and BIPOC-led team deeply committed to building an inclusive pipeline of collaborators."
Values (verbatim from /team-and-values): Equity, justice and liberation are paramount; humble, curious and collaborative mindset; seek to add value without seeking credit; surface truth thoughtfully and empathetically; do no harm; "Don't take ourselves too seriously — enjoy the work, the people and the mishaps along the way."
Work-Life Balance
Trestle is listed in our directory as operating a 4-day work week (Fridays off, 32 hours / 100% salary). Trestle's own live website (homepage, /about, /team-and-values, /how-we-work, /careers) does not currently publish its work-week schedule details — verify directly with the organisation before applying.
Perks and Benefits
Live careers page lists "IT & Security specialists" as the current open role and describes the company as "regularly looking for new collaborators to join us in this work — as members of our network of freelancers and full time team members." The freelance listing on the All-Hands / Cultivate Community job board ($175/hour, US-only contract) is the public reference point. Specific benefits (healthcare, pension match, vacation specifics) are not published on the live site.