I've joined Igalia, the worker-owned tech consultancy

I'm thrilled to say I'm now working as part of Igalia, a worker-owned tech consultancy specializing in free and open source web technology. I'm a month in and the more I learn about the people, the organization, and the work itself, the happier I am to have landed here.

For those who don't know my background: I started my career as a web developer, marketer, and community organizer, and I've spent the last two decades deepening my specialization in free and open source software (FOSS).

At Igalia, I get to spend my days helping FOSS projects grow, mature, and find their audience as an Open Source Product Marketing Strategist. I sit on the global strategy team that supports work across Igalia.

Right now, my focus is on WPE WebKit, Servo, and Moonforge.

Hold on what is FOSS?

FOSS sits at the intersection of community, philosophy, and technology. That hits home for me as someone who enjoys technology, savors organizational complexity, and loves people.

Most people in my life don't work in tech, so if you don't know what FOSS is, that's okay! FOSS is software that is created under a copyright license that allows anyone to use, study, modify, and redistribute the software. It is typically created by a community of contributors across national and organizational borders, and in the best case, stewarded by nonprofit or co-operative organizations that answer to the public rather than, say, investors.

In case you missed it, my time at O'Reilly Media, Google, Salesforce, Tidelift, and The Matrix.org Foundation were all about FOSS. Not only do I work in the space, I volunteered for six years in senior leadership at the Open Source Initiative, the very nonprofit that stewards the Open Source Definition. Organizations, both for-profit and non-profit, and entire nation states, rely on that standard.

FOSS is everywhere. I guarantee you use it. We all do. Your web browser, your phone, your network equipment, your camera, your car. It is everywhere. But in the 90's and early 00's, FOSS was considered radical, especially by people who only saw the world through the lens of money, capture, and extraction.

I love FOSS because, fundamentally, we go further together and help more people when we don't lock things up behind arbitrary license fees and draconian intellectual property frameworks.

Alright, so... Igalia?

Igalia, based in A Coruña, Spain, is a consulting firm that's been around since 2001 and they have a well-earned and sterling reputation.

For folks who aren't familiar with Igalia but are familiar with open source tech, I like to point out that Igalia is one of the most prolific contributors to browser engines: in 2025, Igalia's contributions to WebKit were second only to Apple, and contributions to Chromium were second only to Google and Microsoft.

Igalia's commitment to FOSS and open standards matters a lot to me.

However, as someone who has deep misgivings about corporate culture and US-dominated Big Tech, what really put me over the edge in choosing to apply to Igalia is the fact that it's worker-owned and employee-run.

That makes for an organization that is run humanely and, as far as I'm concerned, far more ethically than any of the for-profits I've worked for in the past. Plus, it's nice to be somewhere that doesn't answer to the whims of investors. The important thing is to do good and valuable work. How refreshing!

What does Igalia do, though?

Igalia specializes in technologies at the intersection of web engines, compilers, graphics, and multimedia. It is a center of excellence on all of these technologies, while also being particularly expert in navigating FOSS communities and governance.

That technical and organizational prowess means that Igalia is uniquely positioned to help its clients make the best of the FOSS technologies that are available to them.

It's not just about delivering solutions, it's about doing it in a way that is sustainable and maintainable.

To be specific, this work might show up in infotainment systems, smart TVs, kiosks, VR/AR headsets, or solar arrays, as a few examples.

I look forward to sharing more about my colleague's work as the adventure continues! I will only rarely do that on this blog, though, as I don't much use it for work. If you're keen on the tech, best to follow me on the Fediverse, Atmosphere, or LinkedIn.