Editing levels and roles View history

Understanding the editing community

This page discusses the “ranks” or “levels” held by Waze Map Editors, which forms a part of the editing permissions system. See the USA page which goes into detail on the points and levels obtained within the Waze app.

The terms “rank” and “level” are often used interchangeably and thus both are listed here. Herein, this article will use the term level.

Your editing level increases based on your editing count, as your editing level grows, so do your permissions and editing abilities. These are discussed further below.

The editing community isn't the only community in Waze. Check out the many communities within the global Waze community.

What's the difference between a change and an edit?

In the Waze Map Editor (WME), any change is counted by the counter on the Save button in the top right corner. A change is not the same as an edit. A change is any action that can be undone with the undo button. For example, if you select 10 segments at one time, correct the spelling of the name on all 10 segments, and select Apply, the change counter will increase by one. Why? Because you made one single, undo-able change. If you change one segment by moving 10 geometry points around a curve, each time you drag and drop a geometry point, that is a change and the change counter increases because you can undo each of these actions.

In the first example, those 10 segments changed all at once will get you credit for 10 edits. In the second example, those 10 changes will get you credit for 1 edit. In the first, you changed 10 different objects. In the second, you changed only a single object.

As a final, extreme example: if you update an existing long segment, give it a new name, change the city, change the road type, the direction, the lock level and elevation, then adjust the location of 100 geometry points, the save counter may show 160 changes. When you save, that is counted as a single edit to that segment.

Editing level promotions

Level promotions are evaluated based on a combination of related factors including:

Suspicious or damaging edits
Edit count
Proper etiquette in communication
Editing quality and finish
Editing skill and knowledge
Community involvement
Mentoring participation.

These factors are weighted differently at different promotion levels. Promotion to levels 2 and 3 often focus more on knowledge, skill, and quality of edits (with edit count used as a proxy). Promotion to level 4 and above often requires more communication, community involvement, mentoring, and leadership.

Edit count therefore is of diminishing importance to promotion at higher levels. If one edits with the requisite skill and communicates with integrity and etiquette, and other level-associated criteria are satisfied, one may be promoted before achieving the listed edit count for a given level. Conversely, a lack of effective editing practices with quality edits and proper decorum, promotion may not occur even after one has achieved the listed edit count.

Formal mentoring is a great tool to help you learn the skills and knowledge you will need to be eligible for a level promotion. Get in touch with your state manager before you are eligible and have a discussion about where you need to focus to become eligible for the promotion.

If you feel that you might be eligible for a level promotion, review the above list of factors, reflect on your progress, and contact one of the Local Champs to initiate a review and the promotion process. Promotions aren't the decision of a single Local Champ, but are discussed amongst all Local Champs.

Editing level demotions

In rare occasions, editors may be "level locked" or demoted backwards if the editor no longer meets the requirements to hold a specific level. For example, a level 4 editor stops their community involvement and mentoring, and/or edit quality no longer meets mapping standards, they may find their level adversely affected.

Level breakdowns

Badge	Editing Level	Suggested Edit Count	Editable Area Radius	Notes
New users	1	0 plus	1.6 km (1 mile)	All users start in this group.
Beginner editors	2	3,000 plus	3.2 km (2 miles)	Editors with 3,000 edits may be automatically promoted to level 2 subject to the above promotion criteria.
Proficient editors	3	25,000 plus	4.8 km (3 miles)	Editors with 25,000 edits may be automatically promoted to level 3 subject to the above promotion criteria. This level is often held by emerging area managers.
Advanced editors	4	100,000 plus	6.4 km (4 miles)	Level 4 will require a request to and review by Local Champs before approval. Requires more community involvement, mentoring and leadership. This level is often held by senior area managers, as well as state and country managers.
Expert editors	5	250,000 plus	6.4 km (4 miles)	Level 5 will require a request to and review by Local Champs before approval. Requires more community involvement, mentoring and leadership. This level is often held by state and country managers.
Waze Champs	6	N/A	Country Wide	Local Champs lead and manage whole-country communities, forming the leadership team. Global Champs must be nominated, approved by staff and the international Global Champ community. This level is often held by champs.
Waze Staff	7	N/A	Global	This level is only held by Waze staff.

Community roles

Our editing community is made up of volunteers who keep it running smoothly. Volunteers fulfil different roles and specialise in specific areas of editing.

Map editor

The Waze map is crowd-sourced, user edited and open to anyone who wants to contribute. Any Waze user can become a map editor by logging into the Waze Map Editor (WME). All map editors start at level 1, and can then progress through the ladder of levels and roles as they gain experience, learn the intricacies of WME and map editing, and become involved in the community.

New editors to Australia should check out our onboarding page to start learning the basics.

Managers

All of our managers are selfless volunteers who work together with the community and management team to improve and protect the Waze map. Managers need to be active and contactable to hold the role so they can assist the community, and are expected to mentor and lead others. All managers play an active role in proactively contributing to, and protecting the map from damage.

Area manager

Area Managers (AM) are map editors who volunteer to take an active role in maintaining specific areas of the Waze map. A selected area of the map is added to their “editable area”, regardless of if they have driven there recently, as long as they are active as an AM.

To be granted AM status, editors need to be active in the community, follow the rules, have a good understanding of mapping standards, and approaching, if not already, level 3. The higher your experience, the higher the likelihood of being granted larger or multiple areas. In addition, Local Champs are more inclined to approve larger areas in regional and remote Australia as road infrastructure is less dense. Use the Area Manager application form to apply. The role expires automatically if you are inactive for 90 days.

State manager

State Managers (SM) have an editing area that extends to an entire state or territory. In addition, they are community leaders who assist in guiding new editors, mentoring, assisting with locks/unlocks, and contributing to policy decisions for their state and country. It is a large job, and they depend on the support from their area managers. SMs are chosen by Local Champs, and there can be multiple SMs per state.

Country manager

Country Managers (CM) have an editing area that extends to the entire country (though it does not appear as an area on their profile page). In addition, they are community leaders who assist in guiding new editors, mentoring, assisting with locks/unlocks, and contributing to policy decisions for the country. It is a massive job, and they depend on the support from area and state managers. In Australia, the CM role is both an editing and community role.

Champs

Champs are editors, selected by Waze management, that show long-standing contributions to the Waze community. Their role isn't just about editing skills, but they play a major role in community development and management. They set and enforce rules and standards in order to protect the map and community.

Local champ

Local Champs (LC) are part of a specific country's community leadership. Typically an editor must first be a Country Manager for some time before being eligible to become a Local Champ. Waze will select the most senior and skilled editors in any active editing region to become Local Champs. Once Local Champs are selected for a region, they will have the authority to nominate and approve more Local Champs for their region.

Coordinator

Country Coordinators are champs who coordinate between the local community and Waze Team, as community ambassadors. A coordinator's main responsibilities are:

Participating in both global and local champs' groups, and being in direct contact with the relevant Waze community managers
Advise about the urgency and the severity of any reported issue
Advocate on behalf of the community
Be aware of the company news, product announcements, new versions etc.
Assist with social media activities in the country
Take part in the setup of editors meetups.

Global champ

Global Champs (GC) are part of the world community leadership of Waze. Typically an editor must first be a Local Champ for some time before being eligible to become a Global Champ.

GCs are active within the community (forums and Discord), engage in cross-community collaboration with other countries, represent their local community on a global platform, act as a connection between their community and Waze staff, sustain the wellbeing and health of communities, and demonstrate adept product proficiency. Check out the Waze Global Champ position description for more details, and new GCs can be nominated here.

Wondering what a GC does in a month? Check out this forum post to read about one month for one GC.

Product expert

Product Experts (PE) are very experienced community members that assist Waze users and the public to address questions on the Waze Community Support platform.

Beta tester

On top of the Waze app and services to the public users, Waze is also constantly working on improvements through their beta program. Beta testers get early access to new updates and features, have a voice in providing product feedback, and are a part of the exclusive beta community. You can join the Waze app betas including the routing beta server (RBS) by following the instructions on the Waze Beta Site.

Waze App, CarPool and Routing

Learn more about joining the Waze app beta testing experiences on the Waze beta website.

Beta Leaders / Suggestion Moderators

The Waze application beta program is led by Beta Leaders who support Waze staff to run the beta community on Centercode. Beta Leaders get early access to beta builds and features for thorough testing before it reaches the rest of the community. They curate high-quality bug reports for investigation by Waze developers while working directly with staff on issues. Many Beta Leaders are also Suggestion Moderators, who organise incoming suggestions, including the filtering of duplicates, to reflect the true community need behind suggestions for review and prioritisation.

WME Beta Tester

Waze also has a beta program for the Waze Map Editor (WME) which is managed by the community. WME Beta Testers are playfully known as pirates (ARRRGH). If you are a level 3 editor or above in Australia, you can request to join the WME Beta program by asking in the #role-requests channel in the Waze Australia Discord server, or by contacting a Local Champ. Admission into the program is at the discretion of our Local Champs.

Localiser

Localisers use language to make the app experience feel native to our Australian app users. A small team of localisers support the project to make sure Waze feels Aussie.

New editor coordinator

The New Editor Coordinator is a unique role to Australia, and they're one of the first people you might hear from after you start mapping here. They'll welcome you and help induct you into the map editing experience and help answer all your questions!

Some of their responsibilities include reviewing and developing strategies to recruit and retain new map editors, examining the whole process from joining Waze to becoming a senior editor, developing resources to assist new members, are a friendly face and advocate on behalf of new editors, and they reach out to new editors and refer them to mentors to support their growth.

Event marshal

Event Marshals help to promote high quality traffic event data collected on the Waze Map. They lead the closures team in Australia, and help organise the exchange of information between Waze, event partners and most importantly, our community. Check out the event marshal position description.

Closure team

Separate from the Waze Closure Team, the Australia closure team works with Event Marshals, and is composed of responsible and experienced editors who display an interest in traffic events and road closures. They can be assigned additional "real time closure permissions" that allow them to apply road closures within a defined polygon in response to routine works and disaster closures.

Social media team

Community members with an interest in public relations and social networking who assist maintaining Waze Australia's social media platforms.

There are not currently any editors in Australia active in this role. We've actively looking though, check out these roles available in Australia.

Toll pricing team

This team monitors changes in toll prices across Australia and feeds the data into the toll tool management portal. It is a large job and very data focused, but it has the tremendous result in displaying accurate toll prices to Waze app users before they embark on a toll road route.

Beacons team

The beacons team lead the mapping of tunnel infrastructure that has specific requirements before they can hold Waze Beacons. There are not currently any editors in Australia active in this role. However, our country managers and local champs usually lead any beacon projects new to Australia.

Partner coordinator

Partnerships coordinators aim to clarify and organise the relationship and knowledge sharing between editors and partners in a specific city, region or country. The coordinator will handle general communication by the editors community, mentoring etc ., playing a critical role in the city’s transportation flow.