WordPress Developer at Uncanny Owl

PHP/WordPress Developer

Remote   |  Full-time

About Uncanny Owl

We build Uncanny Automator, the most powerful automation platform for WordPress. Think Zapier, but native to WordPress. We also develop several eLearning add-ons used by thousands of eLearning sites worldwide.

Want to work on something awesome & make an impact? Our products are active on over 80,000 websites and experienced by millions of internet users. Join us and help shape the future of the web.

The Role

As a WordPress Developer, you're responsible for Making Stuff Go. You'll build and maintain integrations that connect WordPress to hundreds of external services—from CRMs and email platforms to payment gateways and social networks. You'll own features from conception to completion, handling scoping, development, and testing.

Day-to-day, you'll:

• Build new Automator integrations (triggers and actions) for third-party plugins and apps
• Scope, develop, and test product enhancements, new product features and product add-ons of all sizes
• Work with support to fix bugs reported by our internal team or by customers
• Refactor legacy code while maintaining backward compatibility
• Review pull requests from teammates and provide constructive feedback (GitHub PRs)
• Jump between front-end and back-end tasks as needed
• Communicate with the team and support your peers using chat, audio, and video

Requirements

You Must Have

These are actual requirements, not a wish list:

• 3+ years of WordPress plugin development — professional experience with plugin architecture and WordPress standards, not just plugin and theme tweaks
• 4+ years of Advanced PHP proficiency — OOP, autoloading, namespacing, traits, interfaces, modern PHP practices. You write classes, not 2000-line functions.php files
• AI-assisted development expertise - you know how to leverage AI to amplify and accelerate your work - not replace your brain
• Third-party API experience — consuming APIs from services like Stripe, Drip, Zapier, Google, MailChimp, etc.
• WordPress hooks mastery — actions, filters, priorities. You know when to use each and why
• Security awareness — escaping, sanitization, nonces, capability checks are second nature
• Build tools — ability to use and extend webpack and similar tools
• Package managers — familiarity with Composer and NPM
• Git proficiency — competent with version control through git and GitHub. You've worked on a team codebase before
• Keep it simple — ability to keep complex ideas and features simple (simplicity is a core value!)
• Previous remote work experience — freelance or remote work background
• Strong English communication — fluent in both verbal and written English. Remote work requires clear async communication, and there's no such thing as overcommunicating on our team
• Personal Computer with Internet Access
• Availability — able to participate in audio/video meetings between 9 am - 5 pm EST

Nice to Have

These will make you stand out:

• LearnDash experience — if you've built LearnDash add-ons or customizations, we want to talk
• Existing Uncanny Automator integration — if you've worked to extend Uncanny Automator, we want to talk
• Claude Code - you're an expert at giving Claude Code the guidance and context necessary to plan and execute a project, resulting in code that is equal in quality to what you could produce yourself, but created in a fraction of the time
• HTML/CSS/SCSS experience — layout, specificity, cross-browser compatibility, accessibility
• JavaScript expertise — vanilla JS, jQuery, ES6, DOM manipulation, async programming, closures, promises, web components, VueJS or React proficiency
• MySQL expertise — database design, queries, optimization
• REST API experience — working with WordPress REST API and authentication
• TDD experience — writing PHP unit tests
• UI/UX design chops
• DevOps or infrastructure management

Who Thrives Here

• You're a self-starter who loves taking initiative and seeing things through from conception to completion
• You're an excellent communicator who makes sure nothing slips through the cracks
• You have the curiosity and desire to learn and grow your skills
• You're passionate about leaving your mark on the web and excited to impact millions of users
• You take pride in quality and craftsmanship, not just checking boxes
• You're a team player who is comfortable working alongside and helping other developers, and you don't take critical feedback personally
• You're adaptable — happy working on tasks of all sizes

What We Offer

Working for a fast-growing bootstrapped company is a rare opportunity, one we consider a lifestyle choice rather than a job choice. Our positions are challenging, but also come with amazing advantages and fulfillment to those who earn them.

• Competitive salary
• Fully remote — work from anywhere. Our team spans Canada, Colombia, Philippines, Pakistan, Finland, and more
• Annual all-company retreat — we fly everyone out once a year and cover all travel costs
• Real ownership — you'll own features from scoping to deployment
• Impact at scale — your code runs on tens of thousands of websites
• Solve meaningful problems — your work makes a tangible difference
• Work with the best — frequent, often daily, interactions with talented teammates
• No politics, no b.s., and no jerks

Location & Hours

This is a remote position - our team is spread around the globe! Our home base is in Canada, so company operating hours are generally 9am - 5pm ET (UTC -5). While full coverage is not a requirement, you must be available during a portion of the day.

How to Apply

💡 Interested in applying?

🔍 Please read and follow these steps carefully. 

Please clearly include the following in your cover letter:

• Your GitHub/GitLab/WordPress.org profile (required - include code samples)
• Your experience with WordPress plugin development — tell us about a specific plugin you've built or contributed to
• Your favorite WordPress hook/function and why — we want to see how you think about WordPress development
• What AI coding tools you use and how they fit into your workflow
• Tell us about yourself — why you should be considered, your experience, qualifications, personality, etc.
• Other profile links if available (your website, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Answers to any additional interview questions in the application form

Important: Don't forget to proofread before submitting. Check spelling, capitalization, etc. Attention to detail is one of our core values - this is your chance to stand out!

Our process: Application review → Skills assessment → Code challenge → Live interview → Offer

We won't be able to individually respond to all applications, but if we feel you're a strong match, someone will be in touch shortly. 

Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you!