Senior WordPress & PHP Server Developer [AQ-20283]

Imagine making a tangible difference for a prominent not-for-profit organization, ensuring their vital online presence runs flawlessly and reaches their community effectively. As a seasoned expert, you’ll step in as a crucial partner with Aquent, tackling complex technical challenges head-on and delivering immediate, impactful solutions that directly support their mission and community outreach.

About Our Client Partner

Aquent is proud to partner with a highly respected not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving its community. Their digital platform is essential for outreach and operations, and they are seeking a specialized expert to optimize its performance and stability, ensuring their message and services continue to reach those who need them most.

About The Opportunity

This is an exhilarating opportunity for a highly skilled developer to make an immediate and significant impact. The organization’s web platform is currently experiencing performance degradation, heavy background job queues, and an influx of server-level error logs. In this critical engagement, you will be instrumental in diagnosing and resolving these complex issues, ensuring the organization’s digital infrastructure is robust and reliable. You’ll perform a rapid health check, isolate root causes, and safely implement performance fixes, with the potential for ongoing support to maintain optimal functionality. Your expertise will directly enable the organization to continue its vital community outreach and mission-driven work without interruption.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze Nginx/Apache server logs, PHP error logs, and WordPress debug logs to identify critical bottlenecks, fatal errors, and slow queries.
• Audit Action Scheduler, WP-Cron, and database queue tables to clear backlogs and prevent resource hogging.
• Optimize database queries, review plugin footprint, and resolve PHP execution limits or memory leaks.
• Check caching layers (Redis/Memcached/Varnish), PHP-FPM settings, and hosting configuration to improve site response times.
• Apply immediate fixes during the initial engagement window and deliver a concise summary report outlining any recommended follow-up or long-term maintenance.

Must-Have Qualifications

• 7+ years of hands-on experience with PHP and advanced WordPress architecture.
• Deep experience with server-side diagnostics (Linux, PHP-FPM, MySQL optimization, WP-Cron vs. System Cron).
• Proven track record of resolving complex database bloat and high-volume error logs.
• Ability to work autonomously, diagnose rapidly, and safely execute fixes in a live or staging environment.
• Strong communication skills to present findings clearly to organizational stakeholders.

About Aquent Talent

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world’s biggest brands.

Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium. More information on our awesome benefits!

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We’re about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.