Join us as we work together to solve some of the most interesting and challenging engineering problems in the WordPress space through our partnerships with major publishers and technology companies

As a Lead Engineer (Senior Engineer and Architect), you will be responsible for helping define and develop the technical vision of the projects you contribute to and ensuring the code being delivered is of substantial quality. In practice this means estimating effort, defining and architecting technical solutions, leading the delivery of high quality code efficiently and within budget, with excellent verbal and written communication — while adhering to our values, Agile methodologies, coding best practices, and established organizational processes.

Areas of Focus

• Define and deliver solutions to Client-prioritized deliverables
• Lead, mentor, and support other Engineers
• Enforce coding best practices and testing requirements
• Team and Client project-specific communication
• Estimate effort to complete user stories & tasks

Accountabilities

• Take responsibility for the engineering success of your project(s)
• Contribute to estimation/effort level for all tickets in the backlog
• Work closely with others to develop solutions
• Ensure the delivery of quality code, on time, and as estimated
• Review and write unit, integration, and regression tests when appropriate
• Conduct architectural peer reviews for code created by other Engineers
• Participate in Backlog Grooming, Sprint Planning and Sprint Review meetings
• Deploy code and setup build and test environments
• Follow and help ensure coding best practices
• Follow Agile SCRUM methodologies
• Follow and help enforce organizational processes
• Be a supportive team member and leader
• Be candid and respectful
• Have a growth mindset

Payscale

This is a senior-level role, with a typical pay range of USD $50 to $70 per hour for full-time contractors or a salary for employees of $90,000 to $125,000 with benefits, depending on proven experience level and engagement terms.

Work Environment

This is a remote role working as a part of a global, distributed team spanning 5 continents. Most of your work will be asynchronous, with communication via Slack, JIRA, and Github, with a few video meetings per week. Most Client teams are located in North America, so expect some of your work time to overlap with North American working hours. Our project teams may include a Lead Engineer/Architect, UX Architect, Product Owner, Project Manager, Quality Analyst, and 1-4 additional Engineers. Engineers typically work on 1-2 projects at a time.

XWP is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all team members.

Job requirements

This is a full-stack engineering role, modern frontend experience is often needed alongside traditional PHP backend expertise. We expect that you will have significant experience with most of the following areas of technology and the ability to quickly learn and close any gaps that you encounter while engaged.

• WordPress at scale
• PHP, HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript
• React.js
• AMP Technology
• Object Oriented Programming
• Gutenberg 
• WP-CLI and WP-REST-API
• RESTful Services and APIs
• SQL and NoSQL databases
• Linting PHP and JavaScript

We expect you to have a good working knowledge and some experience with most of the following:

• Setting up CI/CD workflows with Travis CI and GitHub
• E2E testing and frameworks like PHPUnit, QUnit, and Mocha
• Build-tools like Grunt, Gulp, and WebPack
• Docker and Vagrant
• Package management tools like NPM and Composer
• Transpiling ES6 to ES5 using Babel
• CSS Preprocessors like SASS
• Git and SVN version control systems
• Developing responsive interfaces
• Debugging for a wide range of browsers and devices
• Extending interfaces with JavaScript

You will also want to have these characteristics:

• Highly organized, motivated, and execution-oriented
• Self-starter comfortable working in a highly technical environment
• Demonstrated ability for continuous learning, creativity, and problem solving
• Ability to work effectively and dependably in remote environments
• Confidence effectively presenting well-reasoned options to decision makers
• Ability to make a strong case while listening and remaining open to other perspectives