AI First Wordpress Developer

We are seeking an AI-First Full Stack WordPress Engineer who is passionate about building clean, scalable, and performance-optimized WordPress solutions. This role emphasizes leveraging AI tools daily to enhance productivity, code quality, and delivery speed. Ideal candidates will have strong WordPress fundamentals and a desire to grow into architectural thinking, using AI as an integral part of their engineering process rather than an occasional aid.

Key Responsibilities

- Develop custom WordPress themes and plugins adhering to best practices.
- Extend WordPress core functionality using hooks, filters, and actions.
- Integrate third-party services and APIs seamlessly.
- Assist in performance optimization and implement caching strategies.

Full Stack Development
- Backend: Apply PHP with OOP fundamentals, understand WordPress core architecture, develop custom plugins, optimize MySQL queries, and work with REST API integrations.
- Frontend: Utilize HTML5, CSS3, Tailwind, modern JavaScript (ES6+), develop custom Gutenberg blocks, and work with Elementor Pro.

Code Versioning and Deployment
- Manage code version control using Git or Bitbucket.
- Handle deployment processes on staging and production environments.

AI-Enhanced Engineering Workflow
- Actively use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, and Cursor to debug efficiently, refactor legacy code, integrate frameworks, and automate repetitive tasks.
- Employ AI to analyze performance issues, identify security vulnerabilities, and connect with MCP agents for design and development support.
- Critically validate AI outputs, demonstrating strong engineering judgment and continuously experimenting with AI to improve workflow.

Performance and Quality Ownership
- Implement performance optimizations and follow WordPress security best practices.
- Write reusable, maintainable code focused on long-term scalability.
- Support Core Web Vitals improvements and fix bugs with root-cause analysis.
- Aim to deliver solutions that work correctly, cleanly, and efficiently.

Collaboration and Growth
- Collaborate closely with senior engineers and product teams to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
- Communicate blockers and technical decisions clearly.
- Embrace continuous learning and improvement through feedback.

Required Qualifications

- 3 to 4 years of professional WordPress development experience.
- Strong understanding of PHP (OOP basics), WordPress core structure, hooks and filters, MySQL fundamentals, REST APIs, and website security.
- Practical experience with AI tools in the development workflow (e.g., Cursor, Claude).
- Familiarity with Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) blocks, multilingual website development, accessibility standards (WCAG 2.0), and basic SEO principles.
- Proven experience building at least 1–2 custom plugins from scratch and integrating third-party APIs.
- Excellent debugging and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with cloud hosting environments.
- Knowledge of caching layers and CDNs such as WP Rocket and Cloudflare.
- Technical SEO understanding, including schemas, markups, meta tags, and heading structures.
- Experience optimizing website performance issues.

What Matters Most

- Strong engineering fundamentals and clean, readable code.
- Ownership mindset with a willingness to learn architecture-level thinking.
- Commitment to an AI-first workflow as a core part of daily engineering.
- Ability and motivation to take on increasing responsibility and grow professionally.

This role offers the opportunity to work at the intersection of WordPress development and AI-enhanced engineering, shaping scalable systems that perform well and stand the test of time. If you are eager to integrate AI deeply into your workflow and grow into a more strategic engineering role, this position is an excellent fit.