Uber offers a thankless job, and the applications flood in

Uber enjoys bad reputation with recent scandals but competition for CEO position is robust

Wanted: a seasoned executive to take the top position at a troubled technology start-up. Must be willing to fix a broken culture, deal with an aggressive predecessor, battle a risky lawsuit and prepare the company for an initial public offering. Self-starters preferred.

This is essentially the pitch that Uber is making to potential chief executive candidates after Travis Kalanick, the ride-hailing company’s co-founder, was ousted from the top spot last month. By some accounts, the job appears to be a thankless one at a company whose reputation is in the toilet. So who would want it?

Quite a few people, as it