Lead Optimizely Developer

Experienced Optimizely (Episerver) Developer needed! This is a w2 project - No C2C Agency support at this time - Thank you! This is a four month + remote contract supporting a global team. About the Role We’re seeking an experienced Optimizely (Episerver) Lead Developer to own the design, development, and delivery of digital experience solutions on the Optimizely DXP/CMS platform. You will lead a cross-functional team, coordinate with an offshore development team, and serve as a key technical point of contact for our client stakeholders. Excellent communication skills are essential—both to drive clarity in technical discussions and to build trust with business partners. • Key Responsibilities: • Solution Leadership: Lead end-to-end implementation of Optimizely CMS/DXP solutions—including architecture, development, deployment, and performance tuning. • Technical Design: Define scalable, secure, and maintainable solution architectures using C#, .NET Core/.NET Framework, ASP.NET MVC, and modern front-end frameworks (e.g., React/Angular, TypeScript). • Feature Development: Build content models, templates, blocks/components, personalization rules, search, caching, and integrations with third-party services (CRM, DAM, marketing automation, analytics). • Experimentation & Personalization: Implement Optimizely features such as Content Management, Commerce (if applicable), Experimentation/Feature Management, personalization, and A/B testing. • Team Coordination: Plan and manage work with an offshore development team—own sprint planning, backlog grooming, code reviews, and quality gates. • Client Communication: Act as the technical liaison for client stakeholders—translate business requirements into technical solutions; present demos, design decisions, and release plans. • Quality & Standards: Enforce coding standards, security best practices (OWASP), test automation (unit/integration), and CI/CD pipelines; drive root cause analysis and production support. • Documentation & Governance: Produce solution design docs, API specs, deployment runbooks, and operational guides; contribute to best practices and reusable assets. • Mentorship: Coach developers, pair program on complex items, and provide constructive feedback on code and solution design. • Required Qualifications: • 7–8+ years of professional software development experience with a strong background in C#/.NET and web application development. • 3+ years hands-on experience delivering solutions on Optimizely (Episerver) CMS/DXP (architecture, development, and deployment). • Proven experience leading development teams and coordinating effectively with offshore teams across time zones. • Strong experience building API-first solutions (REST/GraphQL), integration patterns, and event-driven architectures. • Front-end proficiency with HTML5, CSS3/Sass, JavaScript/TypeScript and at least one modern framework (React or Angular). • Experience with Azure (App Services, Storage, Key Vault, Azure AD) or AWS; containerization (Docker/Kubernetes) is a plus. • Hands-on with CI/CD (Azure DevOps/GitHub Actions), automated testing frameworks, and code quality tools. • Solid understanding of security, performance, caching, and SEO considerations for content-heavy sites. • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; comfortable presenting to clients and translating technical concepts for non-technical audiences. • Preferred/Bonus Skills: • Experience with Optimizely Commerce, Feature Flags, and Experimentation products. • Knowledge of personalization strategies, content governance, and editorial workflows. • Familiarity with headless CMS approaches and JAMstack patterns. • Experience migrating from legacy CMS platforms to Optimizely. • Exposure to Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices and observability (App Insights, New Relic, Datadog). • Education: • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience). • What You’ll Bring: • A builder’s mindset with a passion for crafting high-quality, user-centric digital experiences. • A collaborative approach that elevates team performance and client outcomes. • Ownership and accountability for delivery timelines, scope, and quality.