$100k/year with no benefits and a relatively short fixed term, plus the overhead of setting up the contract and having the space/equipment to fulfill it (admittedly those are minor in this case.)

In my experience for good contract work like this the prices start around $50/hour (at least in big cities in the US), and tend towards 75-100.

I'm not saying that _this_ should cost that much, just taking a stab at the rates I usually see in the DC area.

You can't directly equate contract rates to salary rates. In terms of costs, the contractor has to cover taxes, equipment, insurance (of all types, including health).

Additionally, the contractor has to set aside sufficient profit to cover the risks involved in short-term work. Business development takes a considerable amount of time, and it can be days (or, in some cases weeks) before another contract starts. That time has to be paid for.

zeejayoz: as you will have seen from the others who responded, it's not a salaried position, it's a contract job. Contractors have to pay for their own equipment, supplies, business taxes, licenses, etc. For example, as a freelancer I pay almost twice the federal FICA tax rate of a salaried worker. Plus, I have to take out unpaid time for marketing, and sometimes, even if you're good, you'll find yourself with a week or two of unexpected (and unpaid) vacation. Contract workers have to plan and budget for all of that. So yes, it's below the going rate for experienced developers in any part of the country here in the US. It's way below the going rate for developers with 5 years of experience. I think LibriVox is smart to lower the amount of experience they are requiring -- they'll likely end up with a better developer because of it (although there are no guarantees at below market rates).

The project has a fixed budget, so it won't be $100k ... more like $35k.

$50/hr is a low end for somebody with 5 years of experience, especially if it's 1099 and not W2-hourly.