The Full-Stack Developer will be responsible for planning, executing, and supporting the migration of content and functionality from the existing CMS to headless CMS, mainly focusing on Directus/Optical. This person will work on both backend and frontend components, ensure content integrity, configure workflows, and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure a seamless transition.
Responsibilities
- Analyze existing CMS architecture, data models, content types, templates/themes, and custom modules/widgets.
- Map existing content structures (pages, assets, user permissions, metadata) to CMSs schemas.
- Design and develop migration scripts/tools (ETL) to extract, transform, and load content into the CMS system.
- Configure CMS environment, including content types, templates, user roles, access control, workflow, and approval processes.
- Refactor or develop frontend components (UI) to replicate or enhance the existing sites design and user experience.
- Ensure responsive, accessible, and performance-optimized front-end deliverables.
- Integrate CMS with required external services/APIs (e.g., asset storage/CDN, authentication, search, analytics).
- Write unit and integration tests to cover migration scripts and features post-migration to ensure data integrity and functionality.
- Plan and execute content validation and verification: check for broken links, missing metadata, missing images, layout issues.
- Coordinate with content operations and editors to schedule migration phases, dry runs, backups, rollback strategies.
- Document migration processes, custom code, configuration, and provide training or support to content editors / administrators.
- Monitor post-migration performance, troubleshoot defects and issue, and ensure smooth go-live.
Requirements
- Strong backend development skills (Node.js, Python, Java, PHP or the necessary stack of Directus/Optical uses)
- Proficiency in frontend technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and modern frameworks (React, Vue.js, Angular, Next.js, and others).
- Hands-on experience with Next.js familiarity with Vercel is a plus.
- Proven experience in CMS migrations and content modelling (enterprise CMS experience preferred).
- Solid knowledge of databases (SQL/NoSQL), data transformation, and ETL scripting.
- Familiarity with templating engines, version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines.
- Experience with APIs, authentication mechanisms, asset management (images/media), search integration.
- Strong understanding of performance optimization, caching, and web best practices.
- Good understanding of website accessibility (WCAG) and responsive design.
- Experience with testing strategies, tools, and frameworks.
- Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and documentation skills.
- Experience working with SGTS or government products is preferred.