Back-End WordPress Developer

About Us

Skift is the leading business intelligence and media company in travel, delivering news, research, and global events that power smarter decisions across the industry. We convene senior leaders and innovators who rely on Skift for clarity, insight, and meaningful connection in a fast-moving global market.

The Opportunity

We’re looking for a highly skilled, proactive Back-End WordPress Developer to join Skift. This role is ideal for an engineer who thrives in a collaborative environment and wants a major voice in the technical decisions shaping our digital platforms. You will work alongside our existing development and editorial teams. We are actively looking for candidates based in the UK.

Why This Role Matters

As a reader-first company relying on hard and metered paywalls across a portfolio of properties—including Skift.com, Airline Weekly, Skift Research, Daily Lodging Report, and Skift Meetings—our technical infrastructure is the lifeblood of our business. By building robust back-end architecture and intuitive custom features, you ensure that our teams can seamlessly publish influential travel industry coverage, while delivering a high-performing, secure experience to our global audience.

Some of What You’ll Do

Architecture & Custom Development

• Build and maintain our suite of WordPress sites with a heavy focus on back-end architecture and peak performance.
• Develop custom themes, custom post types, taxonomies, hooks, filters, and dynamic WordPress templates.
• Model and flawlessly manage structured content using Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) Pro.

Integration & Modern Tooling

• Build and integrate RESTful APIs seamlessly within the WordPress ecosystem.
• Develop and maintain custom Gutenberg blocks to empower our content creators.
• Utilize modern development tooling, including wp-scripts, Webpack, Composer, and BEM CSS architecture using Sass.

Collaboration & Code Quality

• Partner directly with our editorial and design teams to scope, create, and deploy new pages and features.
• Uphold rigorous WordPress performance, security, and coding standards across all properties (including WPVIP environments).
• Participate actively in collaborative code reviews and version control workflows using Git and GitHub, while supporting existing projects when external teams require assistance.
  

What You’ll Bring

• Proven WordPress Expertise: Deep experience building hybrid WordPress themes, custom Gutenberg blocks, and structured content modeling (ACF).
• Back-End Mastery: Expert-level proficiency in PHP 8+, MySQL, REST APIs, and core WordPress architecture.
• Front-End Competency: Strong working knowledge of JavaScript (ES6+), jQuery, SCSS/PostCSS, and a comfort level with shipping for older browser baselines.
• Agility and Organization: The ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, meet strict deadlines, and thrive while working asynchronously across U.S. and European time zones.
• Strong Communication Skills: You are friendly, highly organized, and can articulate technical choices clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Bonus: Experience with ReactJS, NodeJS, MongoDB, HubSpot, or a portfolio of public GitHub repositories we can review is a significant plus.

Success Metrics

• Platform Stability & Performance: Consistent upkeep of high-performing, secure code that adheres to strict WordPress and WPVIP standards across all our subscription platforms.
• Feature Velocity: On-time deployment of reliable custom themes, blocks, and API integrations that directly support our editorial and design goals.
• Code Quality: Clean, scalable architecture, demonstrated through successful peer code reviews and effective use of Git/GitHub workflows.
• Seamless Collaboration: Proactive, clear communication and a proven ability to work efficiently and independently across multiple time zones.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to grow within a respected and innovative media company.
• Exposure to the intersection of media, events, and travel intelligence.
• Collaborative, supportive, and remote-friendly work environment.

How We Work

Skift's culture is diverse, cohesive, and full of people who love what they do and bring the best of themselves to work. We are remote but very connected and caring about each other. 

How To Apply

If this role sounds like a fit, we’d love to hear from you. PLEASE SEND US A COVER LETTER ALONG WITH YOUR RESUME sharing why you’re interested and how your experience aligns with Skift's mission.

Skift is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of travelers around the world. We welcome applicants from all life experiences and encourage members of traditionally underrepresented backgrounds to apply.

Here’s what you can expect next

If selected to interview, a Skift team member will reach out to schedule next steps.