Location: 
Chicago, IL
Job type: 
Full time
Skill level: 
Expert/Advanced

Position Summary:

The Senior front-end developer will focus on HTML, CSS, and jQuery development. Pairing these with expertise in Drupal, they will define and build usable, accessible, standards-compliant, high-performance websites. They may optionally specialize in graphic design. In addition to the duties below, they would gather design requirements and lead or participate in our custom graphic design process. Graphic designers provide design advising throughout projects, mocking up pages and working closely with front-end developers on responsive design elements and they will mentor and advise front-end developers and help advance their field within Web Services. 



Essential Functions: 

  • 

Develop and maintain University websites and web applications

  • Create accessible, standards-compliant HTML websites using CSS for formatting and positioning, unobtrusive JavaScript, and popular web tool APIs (e.g. Google Maps) 

  • Format client-provided content and materials for use on their websites 
  • 
Collaborate with programming staff to integrate dynamic code into sites 

  • Implement content managed websites using Drupal and optionally Expression Engine 

  • Ensure that sites continue to meet evolving web standards 
  • 
Support clients 
  • 
Define and design University websites and web applications 
  • 
Define and document requirements for content-managed websites (content types, channels, etc.) 

  • With the project team, define goals, audiences, and metrics for success for websites and web applications 
  • 
Design usable, beautiful user interfaces (optional) 

  • Contribute to the evolution of web standards and procedures at the University 

  • Develop and maintain relationships and partnerships with other web design professionals at the University of Chicago
  • Mentor and advise front-end developers 
  • 
Maintain a high level knowledge of current web standards, technologies, and trends through training and research
  • Contribute to the evolution of departmental standards, tools, and processes 
  • 
Advise the management team on the technical evolution of the department 

  • Other duties as assigned  

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree Required

General Experience:

  • Minimum five years of professional web development experience (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) required. 
  • Experience implementing content managed sites using Drupal required.
  • Experience designing and coding web and/or native apps for mobile environments required. 
  • Work samples, preferably in an online portfolio required. - Experience designing and producing graphical user interfaces for websites, with examples preferred.
  • Experience as a project or team lead preferred.
  • Experience with configuration and maintenance of sites in cloud/hosted environments, preferably Acquia preferred.
  • Professional experience within a higher education environment preferred. - Experience using SASS and LESS for CSS pre-processing preferred.
  • Experience with Bootstrap or similar frameworks preferred.
  • Experience working with Git, Subversion, or similar workflow tools preferred.
  • Experience working at the command line for basic tasks, including using Drush preferred.  
  • Expert understanding of standards-compliant, semantic HTML, CSS, and JQuery required.
  • Expertise with web editors (e.g. BBEdit, Sublime, etc.), and graphics software (e.g. Adobe Creative Suite) required.
  • Expert understanding of web accessibility and usability, including cross-platform and browser issues required.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills required.
  • Excellent interpersonal and collaborative skills required.
  • Excellent analytical skills required.
  • Excellent organizational and time management skills; the ability to prioritize multiple projects and independently follow through with detail required.
  • Self-motivation, the ability to take initiative, and the ability to conceptualize a course of action and organize its successful completion required.
  • JavaScript expertise preferred.
  • Wire-framing or rapid prototyping skills using tools such as Visio or Axure preferred.
  • Familiarity with databases and web application development preferred.
  • Demonstrable contributions to the technical evolution of front-end development and processes preferred.

Drupal Experience: 

  • Intimate understanding of common Drupal modules, including Views, Context, and Panels.
  • Basic understanding of PHP at least as it pertains to Drupal theming.

To apply, navigate to https://jobopportunities.uchicago.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/position/Job.... The position requisition number is 097967, for reference.