Experienced Wordpress Developer for Ongoing Maintenance and Compliance Workflow

We are seeking a highly reliable and experienced WordPress developer to manage the ongoing maintenance of an established website hosted on Kinsta. This role is critical and requires a compliance-conscious approach, with all updates strictly following a structured workflow. The successful candidate will own the entire process from staging to production.

Key responsibilities include accessing the staging server via ssh to perform plugin updates using wp-cli, taking manual backups in kinsta before each update cycle, and verifying plugin versions both pre- and post-update. You will be responsible for manually testing the staging site thoroughly after updates and clearing the cache. A solid Git workflow is essential, involving committing changes to a feature branch, opening pull requests with clear descriptions detailing plugins updated, tests performed, and any noted risks. You will also conduct thorough QA to flag any regressions before requesting review, and finally, merge approved pull requests to coordinate deployment to production.

We are looking for a professional who is comfortable with SSH access and command-line Wordpress management (wp-cli), possesses a solid git workflow including branching, committing, writing clear pr descriptions, and merging. Experience with Kinsta or a comparable managed WordPress host is required, along with a strong understanding of staging-to-production deployment processes and their importance. The ideal candidate will be detail-oriented, proactive in documenting actions, flagging potential issues, and comfortable working within structured, auditable processes, ideally with familiarity with SOC 2 compliance expectations. Experience with server-level cache management, rollback procedures, backup restoration, and previous work on compliance-adjacent teams or client-facing documentation are considered a plus.