System Administrator - WordPress Platform

Washington State University • Pullman, WA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

As the Systems Administrator for University Marketing and Communications, you will be responsible for supporting the design, management, and troubleshooting of scalable, secure, and cost-effective solutions on AWS for WSU’s WordPress platform (WSUWP). Reporting to the central Web Communications and Development team, you will manage server configurations, maintain CI/CD pipelines, manage backups, and troubleshoot issues to ensure the stability, security, and performance of WSUWP networks. You will also explore and support emerging AI-enabled tools and automation to improve system performance, content workflows, and user experience across the WSU WordPress platform. In this role, you will support the WSU system by ensuring the integrity, availability, and performance of its WordPress servers and networks. This position requires technical expertise in server management, security, and troubleshooting. You will also be working closely with developers and collaborating with cross-functional teams across the university system to support the smooth integration of applications and services.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree and three (3) years professional experience. Any combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted for the educational requirement on a year-for-year basis.
• Experience with the AWS cloud platform.
• Experience on the WordPress platform.
• Familiarity with containerization technologies such as Docker and container orchestration tools like Kubernetes and Amazon EKS.
• Exposure to cloud automation and deployment tools such as Terraform and CloudFormation.
• Knowledge of WordPress network and server configuration including nginx, databases (MySQL/MariaDB), and PHP configuration.
• Experience with modern development workflows and software including NPM, Git, Preprocessors (Grunt/Gulp/Webpack), CI/CD pipelines, and local development environments.
• Proficiency with scripting languages like Shell, AWS CLI, and WP CLI.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with SSL, firewall configuration, malware scanning, and securing WordPress environments.
• Familiarity with AWS security best practices, including identity and access management, encryption, and data protection.
• Familiarity with AI/ML-powered tools in web platforms (e.g., automated testing, performance monitoring, or content optimization).
• Experience evaluating or integrating AI solutions within cloud-based environments (AWS AI/ML services a plus).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience communicating technical information to nontechnical audiences.
• Experience creating project briefs, scopes of work, and setting timelines.
• Experience working as part of a WordPress development team.
• Proven ability to write and review development documentation.

Responsibilities

• Manage server configurations
• Maintain CI/CD pipelines
• Manage backups
• Troubleshoot issues to ensure the stability, security, and performance of WSUWP networks
• Explore and support emerging AI-enabled tools and automation to improve system performance, content workflows, and user experience across the WSU WordPress platform
• Ensure the integrity, availability, and performance of its WordPress servers and networks
• Work closely with developers
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams across the university system to support the smooth integration of applications and services

Benefits

• Paid sick and vacation leave
• Paid holidays
• Medical, dental, life and disability insurance package for employees and dependents
• Retirement
• Deferred compensation
• Optional supplemental retirement accounts
• Training and development
• Employee tuition waiver

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level