About Respona
Respona is a done-for-you service that helps brands increase their visibility in AI answers and improve their Google rankings by earning authoritative brand mentions and backlinks from top-tier publications. We sit at the intersection of two of the most important shifts in marketing right now: the rise of AI search and the enduring importance of authority in Google. We deliver results without our customers lifting a finger.
The Role
We're hiring a Senior WordPress Developer on a part-time, hourly basis to help us extend and maintain the custom WordPress stack that powers respona.com.
This is not a "fix my WordPress site" gig. Our site runs on a custom theme (Respona 2.0) and a custom OOP-based plugin (Respona Core) that we built ourselves. It's an organized, modern codebase with proper class architecture, custom post types, custom shortcodes, REST API endpoints, Webpack-based asset builds, and Cloudflare-aware caching. We want a senior developer who appreciates that and can work inside it like a craftsperson, not bolt on twelve plugins and call it a day.
We care a lot about code quality, performance, and long-term maintainability, so we're looking for a developer who shares that mindset and wants an ongoing engagement.
What You'll Own
Theme and plugin development
- Build new features inside the Respona Core plugin using the existing OOP architecture (Element, Hook, Shortcode, CPT, REST, and Ajax classes)
- Develop and maintain custom page templates in the Respona 2.0 theme (Homepage, Pricing, Tools, Integrations, Glossary, Use Case, and more)
- Build custom shortcodes, hooks, and elements following the existing modular structure under /shortcodes, /hooks, and /elements
Custom post types and content models
- Extend our custom post types (Elements, Templates, Integrations, Glossary) and their associated taxonomies as new content needs emerge
- Work closely with ACF Pro to give the team flexible, structured ways to manage page content
Performance and infrastructure
- Maintain and improve our Webpack-based asset pipeline (CSS/JS minification and bundling per page template)
- Keep caching layers healthy across LiteSpeed Cache, Cloudflare, and Cloudflare APO
- Optimize page load performance, Core Web Vitals, and rendering of our custom Bootstrap-based frontend
Modernization and code health
- Help us continue migrating legacy patterns from Respona 1.0 into the cleaner Respona 2.0 architecture
- Refactor older code where it makes sense (for example, modernizing AJAX endpoints into REST API routes for consistency)
- Keep dependencies, security, and best practices up to date
REST API and integrations
- Maintain and extend our custom REST endpoints under the respona/v1/ namespace (Turnstile validation, MailChimp subscription, lead submission, Backlink Checker, Email Verifier, Email Finder)
- Implement new endpoints with proper permission checks, parameter validation, and clean JSON responses
Who You Are
- Senior WordPress developer. You have 5+ years of professional WordPress development experience and you've built real custom themes and plugins, not just configured them
- Strong PHP and OOP fundamentals. You're comfortable working inside class-based architectures, you understand abstraction, and you write code that other developers can read and extend
- Deep WordPress internals knowledge. Hooks, filters, custom post types, taxonomies, REST API, transients, the template hierarchy, and Gutenberg are second nature to you
- Modern frontend tooling. You're comfortable with Webpack-based asset pipelines, Bootstrap, and writing maintainable CSS and JS
- Performance-minded. You think in terms of Core Web Vitals, caching strategy, asset loading, and render performance, and you've shipped sites that score well in production
- Quality-obsessed. You sweat the details, you write clean code, and you'd rather slow down to do it right than ship something fragile
- Comfortable working independently. You're hourly and part-time, which means you can scope your own work, manage your time, and ship without needing to be managed
Bonus Points
- Experience with ACF Pro, Yoast SEO Premium, LiteSpeed Cache, Cloudflare APO, and Smush Pro
- Custom Gutenberg block development
- Experience migrating legacy WordPress codebases into cleaner modern architectures
- Familiarity with custom Bootstrap builds and design system work
- Experience integrating WordPress with third-party APIs (MailChimp, Cloudflare Turnstile, custom services)
- Background working on high-traffic content sites where SEO and performance matter
Why Join Us
- Work on a real, well-organized codebase, not a wild plugin zoo
- Profitable, founder-led, and growing. No growth-at-all-costs theater
- Flexible hours, fully remote, and a long-term ongoing engagement (not a one-off project)
- Competitive hourly rate based on experience
- Direct collaboration with a small, sharp team that respects developer craft
