Senior Back-end WordPress / PHP Developer

Job Description

Job Description

Who We Are

Teal Media is a full-service creative and design agency with a conscience. We believe purposeful design can transform organizations, inspire action, and enable progress. Our clients and nonprofit partners are committed to creating positive social change—and we pour every ounce of our passion and skill into helping them succeed.

We offer a variety of strategic, creative, and technical services, including brand strategy, web design and development, and creative support.

We're a woman-founded and woman-led firm with a team that reflects a broad range of lived experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. At Teal, we value our people above all else and choose to work with partners and clients who share those values.

Teal Media is looking for a Senior Backend Developer who's a thoughtful problem-solver and hands-on builder. You bring strong back-end expertise, take ownership of technical decisions, and enjoy translating complex client needs into reliable, scalable solutions. You collaborate closely with designers, strategists, and front-end developers, write clean and maintainable code, and care deeply about performance, security, and accessibility. You're confident leading technical work, adaptable as projects evolve, and motivated by supporting mission-driven organizations.

What You'll DoBuild & Deliver

Lead the technical implementation of custom web projects, primarily using open-source tools, with a strong focus on WordPress back-end development (themes, plugins, and systems integrations).

Act as the lead developer on both new builds and ongoing support work, owning technical decisions and translating complex client needs into thoughtful, scalable solutions.

Write clean, well-structured, and well-documented code that meets team standards and supports long-term maintainability.

Ensure sites are fast, secure, accessible, and built to scale.

Handle ongoing site maintenance, updates, and feature enhancements for existing client projects.

Own QA and testing for your work to ensure stability and quality before anything reaches a client.

Support deployment workflows and collaborate with internal or client DevOps teams as needed (version control, staging environments, CI / CD).

Collaborate with Purpose

Work closely with designers and front-end developers to ensure designs are technically sound and thoughtfully implemented.

Partner with project teams and clients to scope solutions, explain technical tradeoffs, and solve problems as they come up.

Join internal and client-facing meetings to demo features, explain approaches, and troubleshoot issues.

Create documentation or provide training to help clients and internal teams confidently manage and maintain their sites.

Shape How We Work

Collaborate with senior developers and technical leadership to align project execution with Teal's technical direction.

Research, test, and recommend tools, frameworks, and workflows that improve how we build and support sites.

Help define and uphold internal coding standards and documentation so the whole team benefits.

Contribute technical insight to proposals and pitches, helping articulate what's possible and how we deliver it.

Lead & Support the Team

Mentor developers across the team through thoughtful feedback, pairing, and code reviews.

Participate in hiring and evaluation of technical talent as needed.

Model strong communication, collaboration, and accountability within project teams.

A Plus, Not a Must

Experience with modern JavaScript frameworks (like React or Vue) and third-party integrations (CRMs, analytics, donation platforms) is a bonus. These tools are part of our evolving stack and are used intentionally based on client goals.

• Experience working in a digital agency or client-services environment, including managing multiple projects, shifting priorities, and collaborating across disciplines.

Location

Ideal Location : Remote (US)

Salary

The salary range for this role is $115,000 - $135,000, commensurate with experience and location.

At Teal, we use transparent salary bands to promote equity and clarity across our team. Final offers are based on a candidate's skills, experience, and demonstrated expertise within the scope of this role.

In addition, Teal offers a comprehensive benefits package, generous PTO, and a flexible, people-first workplace that supports balance and professional growth.

Equal Opportunity Statement

If your experience doesn't exactly match the qualifications listed, but you believe you'd thrive in this role, we'd love to hear from you. Please apply and tell us why you're the right person for the job.

We strongly encourage individuals from historically marginalized communities to apply—including Black and Indigenous people, people of color, immigrants, women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, neurodiverse individuals, and those who have been system-impacted.

Teal Media is an equal opportunity employer that values a diverse workforce and inclusive culture. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, disability, and veteran status. We are not offering US visa sponsorship at this time.