Advanced Wordpress Developer

Job Description

Description:NOT A REMOTE POSITION

The Columbian is Southwest Washington’s trusted local news source, publishing in print and online since 1890. Family-owned and locally operated, we’re committed to innovation, integrity and community connection. As our digital products grow, we’re seeking an experienced Full Stack Web Developer to help maintain, enhance, and expand our online presence across multiple WordPress-based platforms.

The Full Stack Web Developer manages and improves The Columbian’s network of WordPress websites, plugins and themes. This position blends back-end and front-end expertise, from PHP and MySQL to JavaScript, CSS/SASS, and user experience. You’ll collaborate with design, editorial and marketing teams to deliver seamless digital experiences and develop new features.

Responsibilities

Build, customize and maintain WordPress themes and plugins.

Write clean, object-oriented PHP and integrate REST APIs and third-party services.

Manage and optimize MySQL databases using relational queries and joins.

Use Git for version control; manage branches, merges and CI/CD pipelines (Bitbucket Pipelines preferred).

Work within a LEMP stack (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP) and use SSH to navigate servers and review logs.

Configure cron jobs, caching, SSL certificates and Cloudflare DNS/security settings.

Develop responsive layouts with HTML, CSS/SASS (flexbox) and modern JavaScript/jQuery.

Automate build tasks with npm and gulp.js.

Collaborate with newsroom, advertising and marketing teams to improve UX/UI and drive engagement.

Review and provide visitor statistics and reports using Google Analytics and monitor SEO with Google Search Console

Provide UI/UX improvements through A/B testing.

Stay current with emerging web technologies and recommend improvements.

We offer free parking, medical, dental, vision, life and long term disability coverage. We also offer vacation, sick and paid holidays with 401k after a year of service.Requirements:

Required Skills & Experience

5+ years of full-stack or WordPress-focused development experience.

Advanced proficiency in PHP (object-oriented) and JavaScript/jQuery.

Deep understanding of WordPress core, theme and plugin architecture.

Experience with MySQL, REST APIs, and LEMP stack environments.

Skilled in CSS/SASS, responsive design and front-end optimization.

Experience using Git and CI/CD workflows.

Familiar with SSH, cron jobs and server-side troubleshooting.

Excellent collaboration and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Experience

Google Analytics, Search Console and SEO optimization.

npm and gulp.js automation.

Bootstrap framework (v4 & v5).

UX/UI testing and front-end optimization.

Composer, React, Twig, MJML templating.

Familiarity with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marfeel (analytical platform), OneSignal (push notifications), ClickUp (task management) or Zephr (paywall software).

Cloudflare configuration (Workers, DNS, security rules).

Knowledge of AI/LLMs or additional programming languages.

Full-time