Front End Web Developer - Rice University

Position summary :
The front-end web developer is part of a three-member web development team within the Office of Public Affairs at Rice University and reports to the director for web development. The front-end web developer is responsible for working across campus with department web teams to develop Rice-branded Drupal web sites and components, build requested pages, create page layouts and when needed assist in content population. S/he uses best practices to maintain high quality and high-performance sites for the university ensuring a consistent look and feel across multiple devices and browsers. The front-end web developer will update existing sites and implement new designs using technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Twig, within the Drupal 8/9 content management system environment. In addition, the position will update and format content for various websites as assigned.

Essential functions:

• Codes designs for the web (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript), implementing responsive design within the Drupal 8/9 environment
• Ensures website delivery best practices which support the development and maintenance of web sites
• Works with various web editors across campus to develop Drupal theme-driven components (e.g., Twig Template, Blocks, Paragraphs, Modules, etc.), sets up sites, builds requested pages, creates page layouts and assists in content population
• Implements, maintains, and updates content management system templates for websites and web templates, including maintenance of rice.edu and affiliate sites
• Evaluates and supports campus user needs and recommends solutions within existing platforms and best practices
• Maintains and develops documentation and how-to guides for the Rice web community
• Continuously accesses usability and accessibility of website on multiple browsers and platforms, implementing user interfaces in accordance with university guidelines and policies.
• Performs periodic website audits
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:

Education required

Bachelor's degree

Substitution for Education requirement -

In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year for year basis may be substituted.

Experience required

Six (6) months of experiencewith full cycle of website development (protype to production) within any content management system environment. ( Experience could be gained as a student.)

Substitution for experience requirement:

Education may not be substituted for the experience requirement.

Skils required :

• Ability to adapt, learn and implement in a dynamic development environment
• Thorough knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and related website development
• Skill with responsive design and symantic grid systems
• Familiarity with a range of programming and scripting languages
• In-depth knowledge of web content development systems and cloud services
• Familiarity with Git version-control in a multi-developer environment
• Demonstrated ability to write, compile, test, debug and deploy code
• Strong working knowledge and demonstrated success using web analytics tools (GA4)
• Ability to translate UI mockups from collaborative interface design tools into functional pages
• Excellent organization, time and project management skills with attention to detail to meet deadlines and schedules (experience with Asana or Monday a plus)
• Good people skills and ability to work in a results-oriented environment with a wide variety of team members such as web developers, graphic designers, marketers and news media professionals; demonstrated team player
• Knowledge of user-centric web design principles, best practices and the ability to translate objectives into interactive creative solutions

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience preferred:

• One or more years of experience in maintaining multiple Drupal 8/9 sites and creating compelling user experiences
• Experience with accessibility, WCAG2.1 and Section 508 guidelines and capacity to apply best practices to coded prototypes
• Experience with front-end development languages and ability to hand code HTML, CSS, JavaScript as well as create/edit Drupal 8/9 themes using Symfony Twig templating engine and/or PhP
• Skill with Sass Preprocessor scripting language for complied CSS
• Working knowledge of CSS frameworks (more specifically TailwindCSS)
• Experience with collaborative interface design tools (Figma, InVision, Sketch or Adobe XD)
• Experience designing and implementing web services

Special instructions to applicants:

Applications will require a cover letter, resume and portfolio of previous work. Please save work as one PDF file and submit with your cover letter and resume under document section of the application materials. If work is code snippets or other developed web based applications include links (i.e. CodePen, GitHub, etc).

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with commitment to diversity at all levels, and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status.

Current Rice University COVID policies, which include vaccination, face mask, testing, gatherings, occupancy limits, and travel policies can be found here: https://coronavirus.rice.edu/policies