CMS Implementation Engineer (Drupal & Wagtail) - Contractor

RESPEC•El Paso, NM

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

RESPEC is seeking a CMS Implementation Specialist to lead the end-to-end technical implementation of the new GeoInfo website. This role involves working closely with various teams, including project management, design, content strategy, and agency staff, to transform approved digital strategy into a robust CMS implementation using Drupal and/or Wagtail. The goal is to meet the Q2 2027 launch milestone for specific content levels. The specialist will configure CMS structures, build templates, execute content migration, establish redirects, and manage technical testing, defect resolution, launch readiness, and external systems integration.

Requirements

3–5+ years of demonstrable hands-on CMS development and technical implementation experience, with a track record of delivering multiple production website builds, custom module/model configurations, and large-scale data migrations.
Hands-on development and implementation experience with modern enterprise CMS platforms, with direct proficiency in Drupal (PHP, Composer, Twig) and/or Wagtail (Python, Django).
Deep technical understanding of modular structured content, reusable templates, atomic page components, custom field configurations, and multi-tier editorial publishing workflows.
Demonstrated experience executing content migration pipelines, database transformation scripts, and digital asset migrations for extensive static repositories (PDFs, media files, datasets).
Working knowledge of end-to-end web QA, functional and cross-browser testing, accessibility compliance (WCAG), redirect rule engines, and go-live deployment procedures.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate smoothly across multi-disciplinary teams including software engineers, UI/UX designers, content strategists, project managers, and executive client stakeholders.
Proven experience managing implementation sprints, tickets, pull requests, and bug backlogs using Jira or comparable agile project management tools.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with an emphasis on creating clear technical documentation, architectural decision records (ADRs), and handoff guides.

Nice To Haves

New Mexico and West Texas residents willing to travel on-site to Socorro, NM, up to 2 times during the project lifecycle.
Direct experience engineering web solutions for Higher Education, scientific research organizations, geological surveys, or public-sector agencies.

Responsibilities

Implement approved, responsive CMS page models and structured content types using Drupal (Twig, custom modules, blocks) and Wagtail (StreamField, Page models, Django templates).
Support the full structural build-out and taxonomy alignment of the website information architecture from Level 0 through Level 2 and beyond.
Coordinate with the agency’s technical, infrastructure, and security stakeholders to ensure all architecture decisions align with institutional compliance, accessibility, hosting, and security standards.
Support the execution of priority content migration workflows in close alignment with the finalized Content Migration Plan.
Lead the technical extraction, cleaning, and ingestion of legacy static assets—including technical PDF reports, scientific images, and downloadable datasets—into structured CMS media libraries.
Implement robust URL routing, 301 redirect mappings, menu navigation, breadcrumbs, and cross-site transition pathways connecting legacy GeoInfo content to the new web environment.
Lead and support technical testing, including template rendering, responsive UI, editorial workflows, access control permissions, search indexing, and launch-critical functionality.
Support the technical integration of third-party institutional systems, APIs, and enterprise databases (e.g., HigherEd ERP / Ellucian Banner).
Actively track, estimate, and document implementation deliverables, backlog stories, bugs, and future-phase technical debt using Jira.
Deliver a fully tested, secure, and production-ready live website populated with validated, migrated Level 0 through Level 2 content by target deadlines.