Available for Hire

Joe Manson

Senior Full Stack Developer & People Manager

Specializing in web development, accessibility, and team leadership. Delivering on point client solutions and strategic digital experiences.

Joe Manson portrait illustration
About

Where
technical depth
meets
clear communication

A highly accomplished and results-oriented Senior Web Development Leader and People Manager with over 20 years of experience.

My Journey

With a career spanning over two decades, I have cultivated a strong foundation in full-stack web development, technical architecture, and team leadership. My journey includes roles where I've driven technical initiatives, optimized development processes, and mentored developers to foster growth and collaboration. I am passionate about creating impactful digital solutions and leading teams to achieve their best.

I've always had a deep love for learning new technologies and am fortunate to have been able to parlay what I learn into a commitment to building accessible and user-friendly web experiences.

My Approach

I lead by example, fostering a collaborative environment where innovation thrives. My development philosophy centers on creating scalable, maintainable code that solves real-world business problems. I am adept at translating complex technical concepts for diverse stakeholders, ensuring clarity and alignment across projects.

I prioritize clear communication, thoughtful architecture, and continuous improvement, leveraging my experience to manage teams, mentor individuals, and drive successful project outcomes.

Skills & Expertise

A blend of deep technical knowledge and proven leadership capabilities honed over 20+ years.

Technical Skills

PHPHTMLCSS/SCSSJavaScriptWordPressWebpackLaravelReactTypeScriptAI IntegrationSQLGitGTM/GA4HubSpotMarketoVWOWCAGUXREST APIPHPStormCursor

Leadership & Soft Skills

Team LeadershipPeople ManagementMentoring & CoachingProject LeadershipCross-Functional CollaborationStakeholder ManagementPerformance ManagementStrategic Planning InputProcess ImprovementTroubleshootingProblem SolvingDecision MakingInterdepartmental CommunicationTranslating Technical ConceptsSolution Strategizing

Featured Projects

Showcasing a sample of my work in WordPress theme development and web applications

Bezos Scholars Program screenshot Lead Developer

Bezos Scholars Program — Leadership & Community Platform

Led the technical migration of the Bezos Scholars Program site from Contentful to WordPress for the Bezos Family Foundation through custom theme development, content and asset migration, and preserving eligibility/application flows and scholar storytelling on the new CMS.

WordPressPHPCSS/SCSSJavaScriptUXNonprofit
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IRA Financial Group screenshot Lead Developer

IRA Financial Group — Unified Platform

Led the full redesign and consolidation of three existing financial websites into a single, cohesive WordPress platform. Focused on improved content editing UX and streamlined performance.

WordPressPHPCSS/SCSSJavaScriptUXSite Consolidation
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AboutLawsuits.com screenshot Lead Developer

AboutLawsuits.com — Large-Scale Replatform

Managed the 1:1 replatform of AboutLawsuits.com to a custom WordPress theme, successfully migrating over 20,000+ posts while ensuring content integrity and SEO continuity.

WordPressPHPCSS/SCSSJavaScriptUXData MigrationSEOHigh-Traffic
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Tidewater Tech Trades screenshot Lead Developer

Tidewater Tech Trades — Marketing Landing Page

Developed a targeted marketing landing page site for Tidewater Tech Trades to drive student inquiries and program engagement.

Landing PageWordPressCSS/SCSSJavaScriptUXMarketingLead Generation
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Sonatype screenshot Lead Developer

Sonatype — HubSpot CMS Development

Led the transformation of Sonatype's HubSpot CMS website, implementing dynamic features and modular content architecture.

HubSpot CMSCSS/SCSSJavaScriptUXHUBLHubDBContent Management
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Climb Channel Solutions screenshot Lead Developer

Climb Channel Solutions — Global Multisite

Architected and implemented a global WordPress multisite for Climb Channel Solutions, catering to UK, Ireland, US, EU, and Canadian markets.

WordPress MultisitePHPCSS/SCSSJavaScriptUXInternationalizationGlobal
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Leadership Experience

Driving technical excellence and fostering team growth through effective leadership.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

Managed and mentored a team of three direct reports, focusing on professional growth, performance discussions, and fostering a collaborative environment. Successfully led development projects from concept to client delivery.

Process Optimization & AI Integration

Spearheaded the adoption of AI tools like Copilot, achieving an 80% reduction in repetitive coding tasks. Architected a standardized WordPress theme framework, cutting landing page development time by up to 60%.

Accessibility & Standards Champion

Championed and led the implementation of WCAG 2.1 accessibility guidelines, ensuring websites exceeded compliance standards for usability, color contrast, and navigation.

Client-Facing Technical Leadership

Served as the primary technical liaison for clients, translating complex technical concepts into actionable solutions and strengthening client relationships through clear communication and trust.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Fostered a collaborative team environment by promoting knowledge sharing and joint debugging. Worked closely with marketing, design, and sales teams to deliver cohesive technical solutions.

Full-Stack & CMS Development

Led full-stack redesign and maintenance of multiple websites, including custom CMS development, frontend development, and backend development. Managed website security, performance, and server administration.

Testimonials

What colleagues and clients say about my work and leadership

I worked with Joe for six years and can say he's one of the most well-rounded developers I've encountered. Joe excels at every stage of the development lifecycle—from translating client requirements into actionable plans to delivering clean, maintainable code through QA and launch. His full stack technical skills are comprehensive, but what sets him apart is his ability to communicate complex concepts clearly to stakeholders while mentoring team members.

Head of Solution Engineering - Level AI, Level Agency | CTO, WebMechanix

I had the pleasure of working closely with Joe for six years, during which he consistently proved himself to be an outstanding developer and team member. He writes clean, maintainable code, eagerly collaborates on complex challenges, and brings forward-thinking solutions through his exploration of cutting-edge AI.

Joe stood out for his thoughtful approach—he regularly sought feedback from peers who worked closely with his direct reports, demonstrating a strong commitment to fairness and growth. He is a highly skilled WordPress developer with a real talent for tackling complex challenges and finding efficient, effective solutions.

Beyond just knowing his stuff when it comes to development, he's always thinking ahead and anticipating what's needed before anyone even asks. He explains things in a way that just makes sense. It honestly feels like you're just chatting over coffee. If it were up to me, I'd have him on every web project.

Joe consistently demonstrated deep knowledge of WordPress development while showing remarkable patience in helping me work through complex problems and debug challenging issues. He combines strong technical skills with excellent people management abilities, making him both a valuable developer and natural leader.

Joe is not only a highly skilled developer but also someone who truly elevates those around him. He's the kind of person who's always eager to grow—constantly diving into tech newsletters and exploring new tools to sharpen his skills and deliver the best possible product for clients.

No matter the complexity of the project, Joe was always willing to dive in and help, bringing a steady, solutions-oriented mindset to every challenge. Joe's technical skills are top-tier, but just as importantly, he's a true partner—dependable, communicative, and always focused on delivering the best outcome.

Joe has always been one of my favorite developers to work with because of his creative problem solving. He has a strong sense of visualizing the desired end state and working backwards to identify all the pieces of the puzzle. He approaches every project with curiosity, patience, and persistence.

Joe is an innovator and expert in his field. Over the past three years, he has been a valuable mentor and manager, playing a key role in my professional growth. He consistently improves codebases and processes, bringing lasting impact to any team he joins.

I've worked with Joe Manson for a number of years and can personally attest to his skills, expertise, professionalism, creativity, people skills, candor, patience, confidence. Long story short, a proverbial unicorn.

Joe was the lead developer for our website rebrand. He made the design come to life. He made sure every module was easy to use and that we were fully trained. I felt supported 100% throughout the process. I would highly recommend Joe to anyone looking for a solid web developer.

Let's build Something
Remarkable.

Interested in working together? Let's discuss your project.

Contact Information

Connect With Me

Resume

Joe Manson

Senior Full Stack Developer and People Manager with over 20 years of experience spanning full-stack web development, technical architecture, AI integration, and team leadership. Proven expertise in optimizing processes, delivering scalable product solutions, managing technical backlogs, and translating business requirements into execution. Adept at mentoring developers, fostering collaboration, and translating complex technical concepts for diverse stakeholders.

Education

University of Maryland College Park

Bachelor of Arts in Art Studio — Focus in Graphic Design, 2003

Physics major 1998 – 2001

Technical Foundation

Frontend: JavaScript, CSS, SCSS, HTML, Bootstrap, TailwindCSS, React, TypeScript, Webpack, WCAG, UX
Backend: PHP, Laravel, SQL, REST API Design & Integration
Platforms/Tools: WordPress (Themes, plugins, custom development), AI Workflow Integration (Copilot, Cursor), GTM, GA4, HubSpot, Marketo, Salesforce, VWO, Adobe Experience, Git, Docker, Lando, DDEV
DevOps/Security: Website Security & Maintenance, Malware Removal, DevOps Practices (basic exposure)
Actively Learning: Next.js, MCPs, AI Automations

Soft Skills

Problem Solving, Project Lead Developer, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Stakeholder Communication, People Management (3 direct reports), Mentoring & Coaching, Performance Management, Strategic Planning Input, Process Improvement, Troubleshooting, Decision Making

Experience

Rad Campaign July 2025 – Present

Senior Web Developer

  • Develop and customize themes and features for client websites on WordPress and Drupal platforms
  • Implement client-requested feature additions and provide ongoing technical support
  • Utilize local development environments like Lando and DDEV within a continuous integration (CI) lifecycle to build, test, and deploy features
Level Agency (WebMechanix, LLC acquired by Level Agency May 2024) January 2019 – May 2025

Full Stack Developer III (January 2025 – May 2025) • Senior Web Developer II (June 2023 – January 2025) • Senior Web Developer (January 2019 – June 2023)

  • Architected, roadmapped, and developed a standardized WordPress theme framework, significantly reducing development time by 30% for full redesign sites and 60% for landing pages, improving project delivery speed and consistency
  • Spearheaded the implementation of AI tools (Copilot via VSCode and PHPStorm) across the development team, resulting in an estimated 80% reduction in repetitive coding tasks and increased developer efficiency. Inaugural member of the WebMechanix AI Task Force
  • Led key development projects from conception to implementation, overseeing technical execution and serving as the primary technical point of contact for clients and internal teams
  • Managed a team of three direct reports, providing mentorship, code reviews, conducting performance discussions, and fostering professional growth within the development team
  • Acted as a primary client-facing technical liaison, effectively translating complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights and solutions, strengthening client relationships and trust
  • Worked daily with PHP, CSS/SCSS, JS, HTML on feature requests, full site builds, bug fixes, and performance optimizations for websites and plugins, primarily in WordPress and HubSpot
  • Integration and customization of critical marketing platforms including HubSpot, Marketo, and Salesforce, enabling advanced marketing automation and lead generation capabilities
  • Collaborated closely with cross-functional teams (marketing, design, sales) and clients to strategize and implement technical solutions, empowering stakeholders with technical understanding
  • Championed and led the implementation of WCAG 2.1 accessibility guidelines, ensuring compliance and exceeding standards for key usability metrics including color contrast, navigation, and overall user experience
  • Fostered a collaborative team environment, promoting continuous knowledge sharing, joint debugging efforts, and mutual support among team members
Liquified Creative, LLC August 2015 – January 2019

Senior Web Developer

  • Owned the product lifecycle for custom WordPress builds, managing client requirements and defining technical scope
  • Implemented Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) on client projects
  • Managed website security and maintenance environments, including malware removal and applying DevOps practices
NRL Federal Credit Union (Spectra Credit Union) November 2007 – June 2015

Senior Web Developer (November 2009 – June 2015) • Web Developer (November 2007 – November 2009)

  • Supervised a junior developer and a database administrator, overseeing their work and contributing to their technical development
  • Led the full-stack redesign and ongoing maintenance of the credit union's three primary websites, managing technical scope and implementation
  • Developed and maintained custom content management systems (CMS) using ASP.Net and MS SQL
  • Managed overall website security, performance, and server administration
Freelance Web Developer 2005 – 2012
  • Managed freelance web development projects from client consultation through design, development, and deployment
  • Focused on delivering functional and visually appealing websites based on client needs
  • Created integrated marketing materials across various digital and print formats