Advanced WordPress/ACF Developer (CONTRACT HIRE)

Overview
We are seeking a highly experienced contract WordPress developer to support our internal development team with advanced builds, custom functionality, and complex problem-solving. This role is designed to alleviate production bottlenecks by adding senior-level expertise—someone who can step into sophisticated projects and execute with minimal oversight.

This is not a basic WordPress role. We are looking for a developer who understands how to architect scalable solutions within WordPress while working efficiently inside the framework and integrating custom development where necessary.

Duties

• Build and support advanced WordPress websites (we use YOOtheme Pro)
• Develop and manage Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) implementations with YOOtheme Essentials, including flexible content structures and reusable systems
• Architect and implement complex directory structures (custom post types, taxonomies, relationships, filtering, and search logic)
• Develop custom functionality where native tools or plugins fall short
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex issues across themes, plugins, and hosting environments
• Collaborate with internal designers and strategists to translate UX/UI into performant builds
• Develop and refine mobile navigation systems, including complex menu logic and responsive behavior
• Ensure clean, maintainable, and scalable code
• Optimize performance, accessibility, and SEO-related technical elements
• Document approach and decisions when building reusable systems

Required Experience

• 5+ years of WordPress development experience
• Strong expertise in Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) including flexible content fields, repeater fields, relationship fields, JSON syncing and deployment workflows
• Proven experience building complex directory-style websites, including custom post types & taxonomies, advanced filtering and search, data relationships and hierarchies
• Strong understanding of PHP (WordPress theme/plugin development), JavaScript (especially for UI behaviors and navigation), HTML/CSS (with attention to responsive design and maintainability)
• Experience customizing or extending page builders/frameworks when needed
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills
• Experience integrating APIs or third-party data sources into WordPress
• Familiarity with performance optimization techniques (Core Web Vitals, caching strategies)
• Experience working within agency workflows
• Understanding of SEO technical requirements in WordPress builds

Pay: $80.00 per hour

Application Question(s):

• Walk through how you would architect a directory site with:
• Multiple content types (e.g., businesses, locations, categories)
• Filtering by multiple criteria
• Bi-directional relationships between entries

Include details on post types, taxonomies, and how filtering/search would work.

• Describe the most complex mobile navigation system you’ve built.
• What made it complex?
• How did you handle usability, performance, and maintainability?
• What tradeoffs did you make?
• You inherit a WordPress site with:
• Large ACF structures
• Complex queries
• Slow load times

Walk through your process for diagnosing and improving performance.

• When building with ACF, how do you decide between:
• Flexible content fields
• Repeaters
• Separate post types

Provide a real-world example.

• Describe a project where you worked within WordPress using Advanced Custom Fields to build a flexible, scalable content system.
• How did you structure the fields?
• How did you handle repeatable layouts or modular content?
• What limitations did you encounter, and how did you solve them?

Provide the URL for this work.

• Give an example of when a WordPress builder could not meet a requirement.
• What was the limitation?
• What approach did you take to extend or bypass it?
• Why did you choose that approach over alternatives?
• What is your philosophy on managing styles in WordPress builds—specifically:
• Using framework settings
• Creating custom CSS systems
• Maintaining consistency across pages and components

Where do you draw the line between using the framework and writing custom styles?

Work Location: Remote