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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Web Program Technician

💰 $ - $

ITWeb DevelopmentTechnical Operations

🎯 Role Definition

The Web Program Technician is a hands-on technical specialist responsible for developing, maintaining, deploying and supporting web properties and web-based programs. This role combines front-end and back-end web development, content management system (CMS) administration, quality assurance, accessibility compliance, performance optimization, and cross-team coordination to ensure reliable, secure and high-performing websites and web applications. A successful candidate will be comfortable working in Agile environments, managing releases via version control/CI pipelines, troubleshooting production issues, and translating business requirements into technical deliverables.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Web Developer or Web Content Specialist
  • IT Support Specialist with web responsibilities
  • Front-End Developer Intern or Web Production Assistant

Advancement To:

  • Web Developer / Full-Stack Developer
  • Web Program Manager / Web Operations Manager
  • Senior Web Engineer or Technical Lead

Lateral Moves:

  • CMS Administrator / Content Strategist
  • UX/UI Designer (with front-end focus)
  • DevOps Engineer (with web infra focus)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Maintain and enhance web applications and public-facing websites by implementing front-end changes (HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript) and back-end updates (PHP, ASP.NET, Node.js), ensuring code is modular, documented and version-controlled.
  • Administer and configure content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla or proprietary platforms: build templates, create content types, manage workflows, and implement security hardening and updates.
  • Troubleshoot, diagnose and resolve production issues and incidents for web properties, including service outages, page errors, database connectivity, and integration failures, with clear escalation and incident reporting.
  • Implement responsive design and cross-browser compatibility fixes so web pages render correctly across mobile, tablet and desktop using progressive enhancement and mobile-first approaches.
  • Develop, test and deploy web forms and interactive elements that collect and validate user input securely, integrate with back-end systems, and protect against injection or XSS attacks.
  • Integrate third-party APIs and internal services (RESTful APIs, JSON, OAuth) to enable data exchange, single sign-on and feature enhancements while ensuring proper error handling and rate-limit strategies.
  • Build, maintain and optimize SQL queries, stored procedures and basic database schemas (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server) to support application features and reporting.
  • Configure and maintain web server environments (Apache, Nginx, IIS) and perform routine tasks such as SSL certificate management, virtual host setup, redirects and log analysis.
  • Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines (Git, GitHub/GitLab, Jenkins, Azure DevOps) to automate build, test and deployment processes and reduce time-to-production with safe rollback strategies.
  • Perform vulnerability assessments, apply security patches, and collaborate with security teams to remediate findings, implement WAF rules, and follow secure coding and deployment practices.
  • Monitor site performance and availability using tools (New Relic, Datadog, Google Lighthouse, Pingdom), diagnose bottlenecks, and implement caching, minification and asset delivery optimizations (CDN, Brotli/Gzip).
  • Ensure web accessibility and compliance with WCAG guidelines by remediating accessibility issues, using semantic HTML, ARIA roles, keyboard navigation, and running audits with automated and manual testing.
  • Coordinate with designers, content authors and product owners to convert wireframes and requirements into functioning web pages, ensuring fidelity to brand guidelines, UX requirements and CMS constraints.
  • Conduct quality assurance including cross-browser testing, automated unit/front-end tests (Jest, Cypress), regression testing and validation of fixes prior to deployment into production.
  • Manage content updates, migrations and publishing schedules including batch content imports, redirects, metadata management, and SEO best practices to preserve search rankings.
  • Maintain technical documentation, runbooks and knowledge base articles for deployments, standard operating procedures, onboarding and troubleshooting steps for internal teams.
  • Support analytics implementation and data validation (Google Analytics, GA4, Tag Manager), configure event tracking, and collaborate with analytics teams to ensure accurate KPI measurement and dashboards.
  • Create and maintain automated backups, disaster recovery plans and restore procedures for web servers, databases and CMS assets to meet RTO/RPO objectives.
  • Provide end-user support and training to content authors, internal stakeholders and external partners on CMS usage, web standards and publishing workflows.
  • Execute website migrations and integration projects including domain moves, architecture changes and consolidation of web properties ensuring minimal downtime and SEO-safe redirects.
  • Implement and maintain localization and internationalization support: manage multilanguage sites, create language fallbacks and coordinate with translation workflows and tools.
  • Participate in sprint planning and Agile ceremonies, estimate tasks, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to prioritize bug fixes and feature work aligned with business goals.
  • Liaise with infrastructure and networking teams to provision environments, configure DNS, firewall rules and load balancers, and ensure scalable and secure hosting architecture.
  • Evaluate and recommend new web technologies, third-party services and tooling to improve developer productivity, site performance, accessibility and security posture.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist marketing and communications teams with campaign-specific web needs, A/B tests and landing page builds.
  • Support compliance reporting and audit requests related to web publishing and security controls.
  • Help maintain asset libraries, style guides and pattern libraries for consistent UI components and modular front-end reuse.
  • Mentor junior staff on web operations best practices and code review standards.
  • Participate in vendor evaluation and manage relationships for hosted services or plug-ins.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficient in HTML5, CSS3 (Sass/Less) and modern JavaScript (ES6+), with experience implementing responsive, accessible front-end interfaces.
  • Hands-on experience with at least one major CMS (Drupal, WordPress, Sitecore, Joomla, AEM) for template development, plugin/module configuration and upgrade management.
  • Back-end development experience in PHP, Node.js, Python or ASP.NET/C# and knowledge of RESTful APIs, JSON and server-side integration patterns.
  • Strong knowledge of relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server), ability to write optimized SQL queries and work with ORMs when applicable.
  • Version control with Git and branching/merge strategies; experience with GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket workflows.
  • Familiarity with build tools and package managers (Webpack, Rollup, npm/Yarn) and front-end frameworks/libraries (React, Vue, Angular) is preferred.
  • Experience with CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps) for automated testing and deployments.
  • Web server and hosting environment administration: Apache, Nginx, IIS; basic Linux command-line skills and troubleshooting.
  • Performance optimization techniques: caching (Varnish, Redis), CDNs (Cloudflare, Akamai), image optimization and lazy loading practices.
  • Accessibility knowledge and practical experience implementing WCAG 2.1/2.2 remediation and automated/manual testing.
  • Security controls and hardening: XSS/CSRF mitigation, input validation, secure headers, SSL/TLS management and familiarity with vulnerability scanners.
  • Familiar with SEO best practices including metadata, structured data, redirects, canonical tags and site maps.
  • Experience with analytics implementations (Google Analytics/GA4, GTM) and basic data validation for tracking accuracy.
  • Familiarity with containerization and orchestration basics (Docker, Kubernetes) or cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) for hosting and deployment.
  • Basic scripting and automation experience (Bash, Python, PowerShell) to automate operational tasks and data transforms.
  • Testing and QA tools experience: automated front-end tests (Cypress, Selenium), unit tests (Jest), and accessibility testing tools (axe, WAVE).
  • Familiarity with content migration tools, XML/CSV imports, and techniques for preserving SEO and URL integrity during site transitions.
  • Experience with log analysis and monitoring tools (ELK stack, Splunk, New Relic) to troubleshoot runtime issues and monitor health.

Soft Skills

  • Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to triage production incidents calmly and communicate status to stakeholders.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication to document technical solutions and guide non-technical content authors.
  • Project management and prioritization skills to manage concurrent tasks, deadlines and release schedules.
  • Collaborative mindset and ability to work cross-functionally with design, marketing, security and product teams.
  • Attention to detail for QA, accessibility compliance and accurate implementation of UI/UX designs.
  • Adaptability and continuous learning orientation to keep pace with evolving web standards and tooling.
  • Customer-service orientation when supporting internal content authors and external stakeholders.
  • Analytical mindset with data-driven approach to measure impact of changes and improvements.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree or equivalent technical diploma in Web Development, Information Technology, Computer Science or related field; or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Web Design & Development, Software Engineering or closely related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Web Development / Information Technology
  • Software Engineering
  • Digital Media / Interaction Design

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of hands-on experience maintaining and developing production web properties and CMS-driven sites.

Preferred:

  • 3–7 years of combined front-end/back-end web development, CMS administration, and production support experience; experience in enterprise web environments, accessibility compliance and CI/CD pipelines preferred.
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