Cowboy State Daily (CSD) is Wyoming’s largest digital news platform, delivering high-quality journalism celebrating the state and its people. We’re expanding our in-house development team and seeking a Junior Web Developer to work under our senior developer’s guidance. This role offers an exciting opportunity to grow your skills in modern web development while contributing to a mission-driven news organization.
In addition to CSD, you’ll support our sister site, Aloha State Daily (ASD), a new platform for local journalism in Hawaii. The role primarily supports CSD, with secondary responsibilities for ASD as it grows.
The ideal candidate is a motivated learner with 1–3 years of web development experience, a solid foundation in PHP, JavaScript, and React, and a desire to gain hands-on experience with content platforms.
Objectives of this Role
- Maintain and enhance CSD and ASD websites by applying best practices in full-stack web development.
- Learn Craft CMS and support templating and content modeling.
- Write clean, tested, efficient code for responsive, mobile-friendly applications.
- Collaborate with a senior developer, content creators, and stakeholders to address development challenges.
- Keep up with industry tools and trends.
Key Responsibilities
- Maintain and update CSD and ASD websites using HTML5, CSS3, PHP, and JavaScript.
- Develop features using React and modern frontend workflows.
- Participate in code reviews, training, and collaborative problem-solving.
- Implement small enhancements and fixes based on stakeholder or reader feedback.
- Support performance optimization, accessibility, and mobile responsiveness.
- Assist with basic digital advertising integrations and hosting tasks under guidance.
- Support website hosting, backups, and deployment workflows.
- Be available for rare after-hours maintenance or emergency repairs (typically less than once per month).
Required Skills and Qualifications
- 1–3 years of professional or project-based web development experience.
- Working knowledge of:
- PHP and JavaScript.
- React or similar frontend frameworks.
- HTML5/CSS3 and responsive design.
- Git version control.
- Strong problem-solving skills and eagerness to learn.
- Comfort with command-line tools in a Linux or Windows environment.
- Excellent communication and attention to detail.
Preferred (but not required) Experience
- Exposure to CMS platforms (e.g., Craft CMS, WordPress).
- Familiarity with GraphQL or REST APIs.
- Basic AWS knowledge (e.g., EC2, S3, RDS).
- Understanding of SEO best practices.
- Knowledge of TypeScript or CSS-in-JS (e.g., vanilla-extract).
- Experience with Laravel Forge or similar tools.
- Opportunities to learn these skills are provided through mentorship.
Compensation
- Salary: $52,000–$68,000/year, based on experience.
- Benefits: Health, dental, and vision insurance; paid time off; opportunities for growth in a fast-paced newsroom.
Work Arrangement
This is an on-site position based in Casper, Wyoming, with collaboration in a small, dynamic team of developers, content creators, and marketing staff.
Benefits
Living the Wyoming Way of Life
Independence in thought and in living is what makes Wyomingites hardy people. As a part of Cowboy State Daily’s team, you get to offer people information and invite them to make up their own minds about the topics covered–an act that our readers wholeheartedly respect and appreciate.
By the people of Wyoming, For the people of Wyoming
At Cowboy State Daily, you get to report on the happenings that most impact the lives of our readership. This is our sole criteria for deciding where to dig deep and use our resources to surface the news that matters.
Wyoming-First Culture
We have so much to be proud of and our team never forgets it. At Cowboy State Daily, you’re surrounded by an incredible group of tride & true Wyomingites who value good neighbors, awareness of local affairs, and helping one another out. The core of what makes us great is looking out for our community and team.