Why Thunderbird?
Thunderbird is one of the world’s most trusted open-source email applications, empowering more than 20 million people globally. At MZLA, the team behind Thunderbird, we build privacy-respecting communication tools that help people manage their digital lives while staying in control of their data.
We are open source by design. Our products are developed transparently and in collaboration with a global community of contributors, and that same spirit shapes how we work: collaboratively, inclusively, and with a shared commitment to putting users first.
Our small but growing distributed team includes 65+ people across seven countries. As Thunderbird evolves beyond a single desktop application, we are expanding across desktop, mobile, and paid services to build independent, privacy-respecting alternatives to big tech ecosystems.
Our revenue model combines user donations, which help keep Thunderbird’s apps freely available, with paid services that cover the costs of hosted offerings while supporting long-term sustainability and continued innovation.
A note about MZLA and Mozilla: MZLA Technologies Corporation is the nonprofit-owned company behind Thunderbird and part of the Mozilla family. MZLA is separate from Mozilla Corporation and has its own compensation programs, benefits, and employment policies.
To learn more, visit www.thunderbird.net
The opportunity
Thunderbird is growing, and we’re looking for a Technical Support Specialist to help deliver excellent support for Thunderbird users across our expanding product ecosystem, including our subscription products.
This role is for someone who takes real satisfaction in resolving support requests with care, clarity, and technical precision. You enjoy working through a queue, diagnosing tricky issues, helping users get unstuck, and spotting patterns that can make support better for everyone. Every closed ticket, forum response, or app store reply represents a user who can get back to what they were trying to do.
You’ll be part of the Support Operations team, working closely with support, product, engineering, documentation, and community colleagues. Your initial focus will be supporting Thunderbird’s subscription products as they scale, but you’ll also help users through community forums, app store reviews, and other support channels.
This is a great opportunity for someone who loves technical support work, cares deeply about the user experience, and wants to help shape support practices for products that are still growing.
What you’ll do
- Manage technical support tickets from intake through resolution, with an initial focus on Thunderbird’s subscription products.
- Provide timely, thoughtful, and empathetic support that helps users feel heard, understood, and effectively supported.
- Troubleshoot Level 1 and Level 2 technical issues, including account setup, email configuration, SMTP, IMAP, JMAP, DNS, email authentication, and Thunderbird desktop client issues.
- Triage incoming requests to determine whether the issue is user error, configuration-related, a product bug, or a feature request.
- Escalate complex issues with clear reproduction steps, logs, environmental details, and user impact.
- Maintain accurate and complete support records in Zendesk or similar systems.
- Monitor and respond to technical questions in Thunderbird community forums.
- Monitor and respond to app store reviews, initially for Android and later for iOS.
- Identify recurring user pain points, documentation gaps, product confusion, and emerging trends across support channels.
- Share systemic issues with support leadership, product, engineering, or documentation teams so we can improve the experience for all users.
- Create and maintain user-facing documentation, FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and internal support playbooks.
- Help support Thunderbird ideas, feedback, or community engagement channels.
- Participate in an on-call rotation, generally one week at a time, with cadence depending on team size and operational needs.
What you bring
- 5+ years of technical support experience providing Level 1 and Level 2 troubleshooting for software products, web services, email systems, or IT environments.
- Hands-on experience troubleshooting email protocols and client configuration issues, including SMTP, IMAP, JMAP, and account setup workflows.
- Working knowledge of DNS fundamentals, including A, MX, and TXT records, as well as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- Familiarity with Mozilla Thunderbird or comparable desktop email clients.
- 5+ years of experience using Zendesk or a similar CRM, help desk, or ticketing platform.
- Strong troubleshooting skills and the ability to gather information, isolate variables, and resolve technical issues even when the initial information is incomplete.
- Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to users with different levels of technical knowledge.
- Strong empathy, patience, and emotional intelligence when supporting frustrated or confused users.
- Experience engaging with users in public or semi-public support channels, such as forums, app store reviews, issue trackers, or user communities.
- A strong sense of ownership over support quality and the user experience.
- Comfort working in a queue-based role with evolving processes, ambiguity, and minimal day-to-day supervision.
- Ability to work remotely and asynchronously across time zones, with strong overlap with Eastern Time.
- Comfort using AI tools for research, troubleshooting, technical learning, and workflow improvement while applying sound human judgment.
Bonus points for
- Experience with open source software communities and support models is a strong plus—you understand the collaborative, transparent ethos of open source and thrive in community-driven environments.
- Familiarity with Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS.
- Knowledge of email server administration, hosted email platforms, or mail infrastructure.
- Experience responding to app store reviews, particularly on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
- Proficiency in a second language; German is especially helpful.
- Experience writing technical documentation, knowledge base articles, FAQs, or support playbooks.
- Background in QA, bug triage, reproduction testing, or working closely with engineering teams.
What success looks like
You’ll be successful in this role if you are the kind of person who cares about both the individual user and the bigger pattern behind the issue. You don’t just answer the ticket in front of you; you notice when the same problem is showing up again and again. You document what you learn, share useful context with the team, and help reduce friction for future users.
You bring patience to frustrating situations, precision to technical troubleshooting, and curiosity to ambiguous problems. You understand that support is not just about closing tickets. It is about helping people succeed, improving the product, and making the experience better for the next user.
Work environment
This is a full-time, fully remote position. You’ll join a distributed team of Thunderbird staff, open-source community members, and contributors from around the world.
We rely on clear communication, thoughtful documentation, and collaborative decision-making to work effectively across time zones and disciplines.
Compensation & benefits
We benchmark our base salaries to local markets and target the 60th percentile of the peer market. The salary ranges for this role are:
- US: $67,000 - $77,000 USD
We may consider candidates with strong skills but less than the required experience. Title, level and compensation will be determined based on qualifications and experience.
In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your whole self.
Work & career
- Fully remote work & schedule flexibility
- Company-provided laptop
- Annual bonus program
- Monthly remote work stipend
- Annual professional development stipend
- Industry conferences
- Company all-hands and team gatherings
Rest & play
- 24 days PTO per year (prorated)
- Your birthday
- Year-end company shutdown
- 9 wellbeing days
- Public holidays
- Other paid leave
- Quarterly wellbeing stipend for personal / family activities
Health & family
- 401(k) contributions
- Health, dental, & vision insurance
- Disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Paid parental leave
- Paid sick days
Work eligibility
Applicants must reside in and have permanent work authorization for the country location(s) specified in the posting. We are unable to consider applicants outside of these markets at this time. And, we do not provide visa sponsorship.
How to apply
Please apply directly through our career page. We carefully review every cover letter and screening question, so take the time to answer each fully. We value authentic, thoughtful responses that reflect your own experience and perspective. It is fine to use AI tools to polish your writing, but your answers should be your own. Candidates who submit generic or unoriginal AI-generated responses may be disqualified from further consideration.
Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
MZLA believes in the value of diverse creative practices and forms of knowledge, and knows diversity, equity and inclusion are crucial to and enrich the company’s core mission. We encourage applications from everyone, including members of all equity-seeking communities, such as (but not limited to) women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.
We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race (including hairstyle and texture), religion (including religious grooming and dress practices), gender, gender identity, gender expression, color, national origin, pregnancy, ancestry, domestic partner status, disability, sexual orientation, age, genetic predisposition, medical condition, marital status, citizenship status, military or veteran status, or any other basis covered by applicable laws. MZLA will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics or any other unlawful behavior, conduct, or purpose.
We will ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, as appropriate. Please contact us at [contact via apply link] to request accommodation.