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PLOS Tech Stack

Open-access publisher scaling product and data operations across mission-driven journals

Book and Periodical Publishing San Francisco, CA 201–500 employees Nonprofit

PLOS is a nonprofit publisher operating a portfolio of open-access journals with a stated focus on advancing open science. The hiring mix—product, marketing, and data roles distributed across mid and manager levels—reflects an org in transition: projects center on editorial board redesign, journal strategy, and product management maturity, while pain points cluster around data consistency, scalable data infrastructure, and business partnering. The tech stack (Salesforce, NetSuite, Tableau, SQL) is operations-focused rather than research-platform focused, suggesting internal systems are the constraint.

Tech Stack 15 technologies

Core StackTableau NetSuite Salesforce HubSpot PubMed Google Scholar Web of Science SQL Twitter Meta Instagram LinkedIn YouTube HTML CSS

What PLOS Is Building

Challenges

  • Budget management
  • Improving editorial board experience
  • Improving data consistency across platforms
  • Ensuring seamless data flow
  • Scalable data management solutions
  • Business partnering model improvement
  • Complex employee relations matters
  • Scaling product capability
  • Building organisational maturity
  • Improving journal performance metrics

Active Projects

  • Developing editorial boards
  • Resource development for board members
  • Board performance data analysis
  • Business partnering model improvement
  • Organisational redesign initiatives
  • Major change management initiatives
  • Transforming product management practice
  • Embedding product management framework
  • Journal strategy implementation
  • International network development

Hiring Activity

Accelerating10 roles · 5 in 30d

Department

Marketing
3
Product
3
Data
2
Publishing
2
HR
1

Seniority

Mid
4
Manager
3
Lead
2
Director
1
Senior
1

Notable leadership hires: Head of Communications

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About PLOS

PLOS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit publisher headquartered in San Francisco operating multiple peer-reviewed, open-access journals. The organization serves early-career researchers and the broader academic community by removing paywalls from research publications. Operations span editorial governance (developing and supporting editorial boards), journal strategy, product management, and data analytics. Current organizational priorities include restructuring product capability, improving how editorial boards function, and establishing more consistent data practices across systems—indicating a shift from historically editorial-driven operations toward data-informed management.

HeadquartersSan Francisco, CA
Company Size201–500 employees
Hiring MarketsUnited States

Frequently Asked Questions

What tech stack does PLOS use?

PLOS operates on Salesforce, NetSuite, Tableau, SQL, and integrates with PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science for data flows. Marketing and communications also use Twitter, Meta, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

What is PLOS working on?

Current projects include editorial board redesign, journal strategy implementation, product management framework adoption, organizational redesign, and board performance analytics—indicating a pivot toward data-driven governance and scaled product operations.