Experienced Wordpress Developer for Ongoing Site Maintenance and Compliance-Focused Workflow

We are seeking a highly reliable and experienced WordPress developer to manage the ongoing maintenance of an established website. The site is hosted on Kinsta and operates under a strict, compliance-conscious workflow. All updates are first implemented in a staging environment, changes are committed to GitHub, and a pull request is opened before any modifications are deployed to production. The successful candidate will be responsible for owning this entire process from end to end. Responsibilities include accessing the staging server via ssh to perform plugin updates using wp-cli, taking manual backups in kinsta before each update cycle, verifying plugin versions both pre- and post-update with wp plugin list, and thoroughly testing the staging site after updates, including clearing the cache. The developer will also be required to commit changes to a feature branch, open a pull request with a clear description detailing plugins updated, tests performed, and any noted risks, conduct thorough QA to flag any regressions before requesting review, and finally, merge approved pull requests and 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 essential, along with a strong understanding of staging-to-production deployment best practices. The ideal candidate will be detail-oriented, proactive in documenting actions and flagging potential issues, and familiar with SOC 2 compliance expectations or comfortable working within structured, auditable processes. Availability Monday to Friday via Slack during PST business hours and the ability to turn around tasks quickly are also required. An initial commitment of 10 hours per week is expected. Experience with server-level cache management, familiarity with rollback procedures and backup restoration, and previous work on compliance-adjacent teams or client-facing documentation are considered a plus.