1. 1. Site Health & Security

   I own the ongoing security, uptime, and maintenance of Ramblin Jackson’s 100+ client websites. This includes managing plugin updates, malware monitoring (daily — not weekly), hosting configuration, and proactive security hardening. I do not wait for things to break. I build and maintain systems that catch problems before clients or Ramblers do.

   2. Contact Form Deliverability

   I own the integrity of every client’s lead flow. Contact forms are how our clients get new business — if a form isn’t delivering leads, or if spam is drowning out real inquiries, we have failed that client. I configure and maintain SMTP, spam filtering, and form functionality across all sites, balancing deliverability with spam protection. When a form breaks, I fix it the same business day.

   3. Urgent Issue Response

   I am the first line of defense for WordPress-related issues during US business hours. When a site goes down, a plugin breaks, a hack occurs, or an urgent client edit request comes in, I respond promptly and resolve it with clear communication to the team. I triage effectively — not every issue is an emergency — but I treat client-facing problems with the urgency they deserve.

   4. Pre-Launch Quality Control

   Before any new website built by our outsourced development partner goes live, I perform a thorough technical QA review. This includes verifying DNS configuration, SMTP setup, staging-to-live deployment, plugin configuration, form testing, speed, security, and responsive behavior. No site launches without my sign-off. I am the last line of technical defense before a client’s website goes live.

   5. Automation Integrations + WordPress Standards

   I own Ramblin Jackson’s WordPress technical standards — the decisions about hosting configuration, Zapier Integrations, plugin stack, SMTP architecture, malware scanning frequency, and security protocols across our client portfolio. I make proactive recommendations before problems arise, and I bring proposals to the Director of Production when a change affects multiple clients or involves significant risk. I document our standards and contribute to the systems that keep our team operating at Gold Standard.

    

   Winning and Failing

   Winning in this role means:

   • Clients rarely notice technical problems because you caught and fixed them before anyone reported them
   • Every new website goes live on time, on budget, and fully configured — with forms delivering, DNS propagated, and security hardened
   • The team trusts that if there’s a technical issue during business hours, you’re on it — without needing to be chased
   • You proactively recommend and implement configuration improvements that prevent the category of incidents that have burned us before (SMTP, malware scans, hosting migrations)
   • Ramblin Jackson’s WordPress standards are documented, current, and followed consistently across all 100+ sites

   Failing in this role means:

   • Clients call Ramblers to report that their contact form has been broken for days — and the team had no idea
   • A site goes live with misconfigured SMTP, incorrect DNS, or missing spam protection because QA was rushed or skipped
   • Technical decisions are made reactively — weekly malware scans instead of daily, shared SMTP credentials across 100 sites — and the problem only gets fixed after something breaks
   • Urgent issues sit unresolved for days because prioritization was unclear or communication to the team was missing
   • You identify a security weakness, a misconfiguration, or a technical standard that needs to change — but you stay silent because you’re worried about stepping on toes or challenging decisions a teammate made previously. At Ramblin Jackson, speaking up about technical risk is part of your job, not optional.
   • The Director of Production is repeatedly surprised by technical problems that should have been caught, flagged, or prevented

Required Technical Skills

Technical Skills & Experience

• Proficiency in HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript — you can read, write, and troubleshoot code without Googling the basics
• Working knowledge of React and JSON — enough to understand what our development partners are building and catch problems in their work
• Deep hands-on experience with WordPress — themes, plugins, custom post types, the Loop, and how it all breaks
• Hosting and server management experience — DNS configuration, staging-to-live deployments, SMTP setup, SSL certificates
• Familiarity with security hardening, malware remediation, and WordPress performance optimization
• Experience managing or QA-ing work from outsourced development partners

Communication & Team Player

• Prompt, clear communication in both task management tools AND meetings
• Willingness to Pick Up The Phone and call team members or meet them on Zoom when they need help

Background

• • 4–7 years of professional WordPress development experience
  • You have worked on multiple sites simultaneously — ideally in an agency environment where priorities shift fast
  • You have been the person who gets called when something breaks, and you didn't panic
  • You have made technical architecture decisions — hosting choices, plugin selections, configuration standards — and you've owned the outcomes, good and bad

Career Path 

As Ramblin Jackson grows toward $5M in revenue and beyond, the Lead WordPress Web Developer role will grow with it. A Rambler who excels in this role — building strong systems, earning the trust of the production team, and demonstrating strategic thinking about our tech stack — is well-positioned to advance to Senior WordPress Web Developer, taking on greater ownership of technical architecture and potentially mentoring junior or outsourced development partners.

Further down the road, a technically strong Rambler who also develops their leadership and project management skills could grow into a Director of Web Technology or contribute to a future Director of Production role — overseeing the full delivery operation including our outsourced development partner and other trade partners. At $5M+, Ramblin Jackson will need experienced technical leaders who understand both the craft and the business. This role is where that career begins.