The University of Southern California (USC), founded in 1880, is located in the heart of downtown L.A. and is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the “Trojan Family,” which is comprised of the faculty, students and staff that make the university a great place to work.

The USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is seeking a Web Developer II for the Southern California Earthquake Center. The largest and oldest of the USC schools, USC Dornsife functions as the academic core of the university, offering courses and advancing knowledge across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. USC Dornsife is also home to more than 50 research centers and institutes.

The Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) studies earthquakes and their effects using southern California as our natural laboratory. Our staff includes a diverse group of individuals from local and worldwide communities, who work to advance the Center’s high standards and strong reputation as a leader in earthquake science research. We nurture an inclusive, collaborative culture, where each employee is treated as an important contributor.

SCEC seeks a fixed-term, full-time Web Developer to join our team to develop and maintain websites for the Communication, Education, and Outreach (CEO) program. SCEC’s CEO program addresses one of the pillars of SCEC’s mission: Communicate understanding to end-users and society at large as useful knowledge for reducing earthquake risk and improving community resilience. The CEO program maintains four flagship websites for its activities: The Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills (shakeout.org), Earthquake Country Alliance (earthquakecountry.org), The TsunamiZone (tsunamizone.org), and Earthquake Country Alliance-Spanish version (terremotos.org). The maintenance and improvement of these sites are the focus of this position.

Duties and responsibilities include:

• Write maintainable, performant, standards compliant PHP 8.1+ code.
• Migrate legacy PHP 5.6 websites to a WordPress platform running PHP 8.x.
• Administer WordPress-based websites: modify configuration, install and remove plugins and themes, manage users, debug errors and troubleshoot issues.
• Modify and extend WordPress to provide custom functionality using custom modules, stylesheets, and data retrieval from databases.
• Write valid HTML and CSS that complies with web and accessibility standards.
• Write maintainable and performant JavaScript code.
• Test websites across browsers, operating systems, and devices.
• Update website content.
• Identify and troubleshoot UX problems (e.g. responsiveness).
• Administer and maintain web analytics tools (e.g. Google Analytics).
• Develop UI mockups and prototypes.
• Maintain website code in source control repository (Git/GitHub).
• Use Linux shell commands to navigate a directory tree, copy/move/edit files, and run OS updates.
• Work with an Apache web server, including updating configuration files and reviewing logs.
• Work with databases such as MySQL and FileMaker.
• Write SQL statements to retrieve data from a MySQL database.
• Create and update documents using Microsoft Office 365 apps such as Outlook, Word, Excel,and PowerPoint.
• Collaborating using Google’s office apps such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms.
• Translate requirements from email and/or meetings, provide technical guidance and then create a requirement list, mockup, or prototype site.
• Maintain robust technical and procedural documentation of processes on an ongoing basis.
• Perform other related duties as assigned or requested. The University reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

Minimum Qualifications

• Application experience in developing standards-compliant websites in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
• Documented skills in PHP and other web application languages.
• Working experience in WordPress.
• Knowledge of web analytics and SEO.
• Working knowledge with version control tools such as Git.
• Working knowledge with web standards.
• Working knowledge of website management tools.
• Strong troubleshooting and analytical abilities.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
• Ability to generate creative ideas.
• Attention to detail and outstanding organizational skill.
• Exposure to developing web applications for mobile devices.
• Documented experience using SQL and other database management tools for use with MySQL, MariaDB or other enterprise-level databases.
• Willingness to go above and beyond helping users.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong communicator and exceptional team player.
• 3 years web development experience.
• Experience with FileMaker Pro.
• Team-Oriented and self-motivated.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Follows coding standards.
• Experience maintaining extensive documentation.
• Knowledge of earthquake science, natural hazards resiliency, or emergency preparedness.

Hourly range: The hourly rate range for this position is $41.92-$46.15. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

Required Documents and Additional Information:

• Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents.
• Job openings are posted for a minimum of (5) five business days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended, so please apply on the same business day if interested.
• USC has excellent benefits, including health benefits for staff and their family with access to the renowned university medical network; eligibility for retirement plans with employer contributions after six months of employment; tuition benefits for staff and their family; free Professional Development classes; central Los Angeles location with easy access to commuter trains, buses and free tram pick up services; discounts to sporting and other campus events.

The University of Southern California is an Equal Opportunity Employer that Values Diversity.

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree, Combined work experience and education as equivalent Minimum Experience: 3 years Minimum Field of Expertise: Understanding of and experience with object oriented design; Web servers; Web applications and programming languages; Web content management systems, search engine optimization, and usability engineering.