Lead Wordpress Developer (Full - Stack)

The WordPress Lead will be the first dedicated WordPress specialist on the team and will have end-to-end ownership of WordPress projects. The role requires both hands-on development and project management experience. This is primarily a hands-on senior IC role in the first 6-12 months, with the mandate to build and lead a small WordPress team as the function grows. As the WordPress function grows, this person will hire and manage additional developers, so prior team management exposure is helpful. The person in this role will join client calls, so strong English communication skills are mandatory. ThunderClap is a design-led agency, so a decent design taste is important. Ideally the candidate should have worked closely with design teams before.

Requirements:

• Develops WordPress themes from scratch.
• Minimum 5 years of experience.
• Comfort working with modern frontend stacks (React / Next.js exposure is a plus).
• Has managed projects.
• Has good taste in design and simple animations.
• Has worked on large websites (30-50+ pages).
• Has agency background (Agile environments).

Must-Have Skills:

• If a candidate does not meet these, they should not be submitted.
• Real hands-on WordPress experience - not limited to installing themes/plugins.
• Strong understanding of web fundamentals and how things work under the hood.
• Ability to own a WordPress project end to end without constant supervision.
• Ability to build complex layouts.
• Good taste in design.
• Experience building custom themes. Candidates whose experience is primarily with page builders (Elementor, Divi, etc. ) are not a fit.

Good-to-Have Skills:

• These are helpful but not required.
• Experience with GSAP animations or other complex animation implementations.
• Habit of writing clean documentation or internal notes.
• Experience managing teams, freelancers, or junior developers.
• Ability to work with frontend / Next.js .
• Prior team management experience is helpful but not required.