Senior/Lead CMS developer

We're looking for a Senior / Lead CMS Developer who has built a strong technical identity and point of view, and who is also genuinely curious about where that point of view falls short. Someone who can author clear decisions while staying open to the possibility that the best answer might come from a framework they haven't considered yet.

This role asks you to hold real ownership of CMS-driven client projects while recognizing that ownership itself is something you'll need to continuously redefine as contexts shift, clients evolve, and your own understanding deepens.

You will work closely with project leads and clients, translating business needs into technical solutions, guiding architectural decisions, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of CMS platforms. But beyond that, you will also be someone who notices when the way we're framing a problem is itself the problem.

This is not a management title. It is a role for someone who finds meaning in being responsible for outcomes, who can hold their own convictions firmly enough to act on them and loosely enough to revise them when the situation demands it.
 

What the Work Looks Like

Taking ownership of CMS-based projects (primarily WordPress and Drupal) from a technical perspective, while remaining attentive to the broader system: client relationships, team dynamics, and the evolving shape of the product itself.

Translating client requirements into clear technical solutions, options, and trade-offs. This means not only understanding what the client is asking for, but also sensing what they may not yet know how to ask for, and helping them get there.

Serving as a senior technical counterpart in client discussions (Slack, calls, workshops). You hold your expertise with confidence, but you also know that expertise alone doesn't build trust. Listening matters as much as advising.

Making architectural and implementation decisions with long-term product impact in mind, while accepting that "long-term" is always a provisional bet, not a guarantee.

Ensuring code quality, performance, scalability, and maintainability as an ongoing practice rather than a final state.

Collaborating with designers, developers, and project managers in cross-functional teams where perspectives may genuinely conflict. You don't collapse those tensions prematurely. You help the team hold them productively.

Stepping beyond tickets when needed: proactively suggesting improvements, optimizations, or alternative approaches. Not because you need to prove your value, but because you see something that matters.

Supporting less experienced developers at the project level when needed. This isn't formal management. It's the natural willingness to help someone grow, knowing that their development also stretches your own understanding.
 

Who You Are

You have 5+ years of hands-on experience with CMS-based development and strong production experience with WordPress and/or Drupal.

You can take full responsibility for a project's technical direction and outcomes, and you also know when "full responsibility" means inviting others into the decision rather than carrying it alone.

You have proven experience working directly with international clients, discussing requirements and solutions in a way that builds genuine partnership, not just vendor compliance.

Your English communication is strong (C1 minimum, with confident spoken English), because so much of this work lives in the quality of conversation.

You are comfortable working in ambiguity and shaping solutions where requirements are not fully defined. More than that, you recognize that ambiguity isn't always a problem to solve. Sometimes it's information about what the situation actually needs.

You have a proactive mindset: you don't wait for perfect tickets to start thinking. But you also know the difference between proactive contribution and imposing your own agenda.

You are willing to handle both complex and simple tasks when the project requires it, without attaching your identity to the complexity level of the work.
 

Technical Skills

WordPress, Drupal, Shopify, Strapi, SEO and Google Analytics and GTM, Core Web Vitals, React, NextJS, Docker, Amazon AWS (basic knowledge).

Nice to have: Experience with Pantheon.io, WPEngine, or Heroku. Node.js. Salesforce integration. Performance optimization. Shopify store optimization. HubSpot integration. Data migration experience. MongoDB. MySQL and MariaDB. Laravel and/or Symfony.

Work Format and Engagement

Part-time engagement, typically 60 to 120 hours per month depending on project load. Flexible workload with periods of higher and lower intensity. Remote-first, async-friendly environment. Possibility to grow involvement over time based on mutual fit and project needs.
 

What We Offer

High-impact work. You work on real client problems, not internal abstractions. The feedback loops are short and honest.

Autonomy and trust. Minimal micromanagement, high ownership. We believe the best work comes from people who don't need to be told what to care about.

Strong collaboration. You'll work closely with experienced product, design, and engineering leads who hold their own perspectives strongly and welcome challenges.

International exposure. Direct communication with US and EU-based clients, which means navigating different expectations, communication styles, and definitions of success.

Flexible setup. Remote, part-time, with realistic expectations about what that actually means in practice.

Growth and development. Access to internal learning, coaching, English lessons, and therapy compensation. We take seriously the idea that professional growth and personal growth are not separate things.

Meaningful responsibility. Your decisions directly influence client success and long-term partnerships. That weight is real, and we think it's part of what makes the work worth doing.
 

About Speed & Function

Speed & Function is a software development company focused on long-term partnerships, not transactional outsourcing. Since 2006, we've been building digital products and teams with a strong emphasis on trust, ownership, and collaboration. We care deeply about how we work, with our clients and with each other, and we continuously evolve our processes to match real-world complexity. We hold our own systems and practices with the same kind of critical affection we hope you bring to yours.