Senior Web Platform Engineer

University of Chicago•Chicago, IL

4d•$90,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Web Platform Engineer is the technical lead and co-owner of University of Chicago Advancement’s web platforms and supporting technologies. The role combines hands-on back-end web development and platform administration with responsibility for architecture, integrations, security, reliability, releases, and long-term platform health. It leads and advises on software support and development, including analyzing, designing, developing, debugging, and modifying code for end-user applications, beta and general releases, and production support. The role also manages the development and implementation of applications, web pages, and user interfaces, and solves complex production issues involving administration, maintenance, integration, and troubleshooting. The position works closely with Communications, which leads business and digital experience requirements, and with other Advancement teams to turn approved needs into practical technical solutions. It advises on approaches, alternatives, and tradeoffs based on business needs, technical requirements, risk, and long-term supportability. The role determines technical architecture and implementation approaches, manages delivery and ongoing support, and coordinates with central IT Services, vendors, and managed service providers when work depends on enterprise infrastructure or services. The position is part of Advancement Technology, which provides the data, systems, tools, and technology strategy supporting Advancement’s fundraising and engagement goals. The job is based in Hyde Park and follows a hybrid schedule with weekly in-office presence. The position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.

Requirements

College or university degree in a related field.
Five to seven years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Demonstrated proficiency with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and working knowledge of server-side web technologies, databases, APIs, and system integrations.
Demonstrated knowledge of web security, privacy, access management, accessibility, responsive design, browser compatibility, analytics implementation, SEO, and web performance practices.
Ability to explain complex ideas clearly and simply, with strong interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to manage confidential information with discretion and tact, and to act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
Ability to work collegially and collaboratively in a team setting.
Self-motivation and initiative.
Ability to prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
At least five years of professional experience developing, administering, or leading production web platforms, web applications, or CMS-based environments.
At least three years of hands-on experience with WordPress and Drupal environments, including configuration, upgrades, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Experience serving as technical lead or primary technical owner for an enterprise web platform or portfolio of websites.
Experience managing production website or web platform lifecycles, including development, testing, deployment, upgrades, monitoring, release management, incident resolution, and ongoing maintenance.
Experience implementing or supporting web integrations involving APIs, data flows, identity, marketing, CRM, Salesforce Experience Cloud, or other enterprise systems.
Familiarity with source control, automated testing, deployment automation, monitoring, and web automation design or development.
Experience establishing development standards, reusable components, documentation practices, quality assurance processes, or platform governance.
Project management experience supporting complex websites, web applications, or platform initiatives, including independently planning, documenting, prioritizing, and delivering complex work from requirements through production support.
Ability to evaluate technical options and communicate effort, dependencies, risks, constraints, and tradeoffs to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Experience operating web platforms where hosting, infrastructure, identity, or security services are provided by centralized technology teams or managed service providers, including coordinating across vendors, service providers, infrastructure teams, and technology partners.
Background in higher education, advancement, fundraising, nonprofit, or another complex organization with multiple stakeholders and enterprise technology dependencies.
Working knowledge of web infrastructure fundamentals, including web hosting, DNS, SSL/TLS certificates, content delivery and caching, databases, cloud or managed hosting environments, and dependencies between application platforms and underlying infrastructure.
Proficiency with design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Adobe Photoshop, or comparable tools.

Responsibilities

Serve as technical lead and co-owner of Advancement’s web platforms, websites, web applications, and supporting technologies, including their development, administration, reliability, security, and long-term supportability.
Design, develop, configure, and maintain the back end of Advancement websites and web applications, including Alumni Weekend, the University Magazine, campaign websites, and other external-facing digital resources.
Establish and maintain architecture, development, platform, and technical design standards, and determine technical architecture and implementation approaches for approved work.
Translate approved business and digital experience requirements into technical solutions, prototypes, proofs of concept, and implementation plans.
Evaluate and select web platforms, technical tools, and supporting technologies with business owners and partners, considering requirements, integrations, security, maintainability, and long-term supportability.
Manage the lifecycle of WordPress, Drupal, and other approved web platforms, including configuration, upgrades, maintenance, technical debt, performance, monitoring, and future needs.
Build and maintain integrations with approved Advancement and University systems, including APIs, data flows, consent tools, and identity services; assess associated impacts on configuration, data models, migrations, URLs, and data flows.
Implement and maintain technical capabilities for digital measurement, including analytics, tagging, conversion tracking, and related data collection, in line with approved requirements.
Ensure platforms and code meet accessibility, usability, user-centered design, SEO, responsive design, browser compatibility, security, performance, and technical quality standards; lead testing, deployment, release readiness, and production implementation.
Maintain platform reliability, recovery procedures, operational readiness, and technical incident resolution, including web platform security, access controls, vulnerability response, privacy controls, user provisioning, and related technical compliance.
Maintain reusable components, technical documentation, and operational procedures; define and maintain supported web services, service expectations, support boundaries, and technical incident classifications.
Represent Advancement Technology in shared intake and planning by assessing feasibility, effort, dependencies, risk, sequencing, and support implications; identify capacity constraints and recommend changes to scope, sequencing, or resourcing.
Lead technical evaluation and management of web technology vendors and service providers, and coordinate technical dependencies with managed service providers, central IT Services, and other University technology teams.
Evaluate emerging technologies, including AI and automation, and lead experimentation and implementation of approved innovative solutions while ensuring appropriate architecture, integration, security, privacy, accessibility, and long-term supportability.
Pursue professional development, build networks within the University and with peer institutions, and support broad diversification of the advancement profession.
Design new systems, features, and tools; solve complex problems; identify opportunities for technical improvement and performance optimization; and review and test code against standards.
Act as a technical consultant and resource for faculty research, teaching, and/or administrative projects.
Perform other related work as needed.