Technical Lead, Drupal

For People; United States; Remote; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

For People is seeking a Technical Lead to own the engineering of a CMS-driven public data site for CMS data. You will guide architecture, ensure Drupal modules remain current, and maintain high security and accessibility standards.

This 100% remote role spans the United States. Travel to CMS HQ in Baltimore is rare. Base salary ranges from $130,000 to $160,000 annually with generous benefits and profit sharing.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of Drupal development, including 3+ years on Acquia hosting, 3+ years building custom Drupal modules, and 3+ years with MySQL/SQLite.
• 6+ years of web development, including 3+ years of React and 3+ years connecting React front ends to Drupal.
• Experience building and running software for the federal government with CMS systems, aligned to FISMA and CMS ATO processes.
• Experience with CDNs (Akamai or similar) and cloud hosting, including migrations between hosting environments.
• Experience owning a team’s full testing practice: functional, performance, security, accessibility; comply with Section 508.
• Experience leading engineers on an agile, public-facing data/content platform and knowledge of open data standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the engineering for the agency’s public data website, built on Drupal with a React front end; own architecture decisions and coding standards.
• Maintain site reliability and security with 99.5% uptime; oversee release management, monitoring, and security documentation.
• Drive hosting platform research and migration planning to new architectures without ATO gaps.
• Empower CMS offices to publish/update data within Drupal.
• Set engineering standards including code reviews, automated tests, security scans, and accessibility testing.
• Lead data-migration work from other CMS sites and explore responsible AI use.
• Collaborate with CMS product owners, data owners, contractors, and partner teams; explain trade-offs clearly.

Skills

Drupal development

Acquia hosting

Drupal module development

MySQL/SQLite

React development

Federal CMS/software

Security compliance (FISMA)

CDN/cloud hosting

Testing leadership

Agile team leadership

Open data standards

Tools

Akamai CDN

Cloud hosting

Drupal hosting (Acquia)

Job description

For People is improving government digital services for the disadvantaged population. We work directly with government agencies to modernize software, systems, and platforms so that they better serve people.

Your Impact

Every month, hundreds of thousands of people go looking for facts about Medicare and Medicaid. They are researchers, reporters, policy staff, and health care providers. When the data is hard to find, a file is too large to post, or a column quietly changes its name between releases, their work slows down or goes wrong.

This project supports the website where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes that data for the public. It holds a large catalog of datasets, lookup tools, and dashboards from many parts of the agency, available as downloads, interactive tools, and a public API. As Technical Lead, you will be the top technical authority for the team that builds and runs it. You will keep the site fast, secure, and accessible, and you will lead the engineering behind its next stage, including larger data files, self-service publishing for the CMS offices that own the data, and bringing CMS data that is now spread across other agency websites onto one site.

This position is a full-time position contingent on For People being awarded a federal contract. If awarded, this position’s expected start date is February 2027.

Our Culture

For People is a team of humans. We place a significant amount of emphasis on positive work-life balance, setting healthy expectations, and making sure our loved ones are taken care of first. That means picking a child up from school during the day or going for a mid-day walk is okay!

This position is 100% remote. Our entire team is remote across the United States, from the West Coast to the East Coast. There will never be a return-to-office, as we have none! Occasional travel to CMS headquarters in Baltimore, MD (2-3 times per year) is required. These trips are infrequent and scheduled well in advance.

This full-time position’s published base salary range is between $130,000 and $160,000 annually. All positions include generous benefits (e.g., For People pays 100% of Gold-tier employee health insurance premiums) and annual company profit sharing.

Your Opportunities

On the project, you will:

• Lead the engineering for the agency’s public data website, built on Drupal with a separate React front end. You will own architecture decisions, keep Drupal and its modules current, and be responsible for your team’s coding standards.
• Keep the site reliable and secure, with targets of 99.5% uptime. That covers release management, monitoring and alerts, incident response, and the security documentation that keeps the site’s Authority to Operate (ATO) current.
• Lead the research on new hosting and content delivery options. Lead out the migration to any new platform architectures without a gap in the site’s ATO.
• Give the CMS offices that own the data a way to publish and update it themselves in Drupal
• Set the team’s engineering standards, including code reviews, agentic coding tools, automated tests, security scans, and accessibility testing before every release.
• Lead the technical work of moving data from other CMS websites onto the platform, and look for responsible uses of AI
• Work closely with CMS product owners, data owners across the agency, other CMS contractors, and teammates from our partner firms, and explain technical trade-offs in plain language.

You Bring

• A humble and caring attitude aligning with For People’s values: passion, fun, curiosity, sustainability, humility, and respect
• 6+ years of Drupal development, including 3+ years on managed Drupal hosting such as Acquia, 3+ years building custom Drupal modules, and 3+ years with MySQL and SQLite databases
• 6+ years of web development overall, including 3+ years of React and 3+ years connecting React front ends to Drupal
• Experience building and running software for the federal government, including work on CMS systems. You have kept a codebase in line with federal security requirements (FISMA) and you know how the CMS ATO process works.
• Experience with content delivery networks (Akamai or similar) and cloud hosting, including planning and carrying out a move from one hosting environment to another
• Experience owning a team’s full testing practice, including functional, performance, security, and accessibility testing, and building websites that meet Section 508 requirements
• Experience leading engineers on an agile team for a public-facing data or content platform, and working knowledge of open data standards

Some Fine Print

You will be working on a United States government platform, and they have a few basic requirements for contractors like ourselves. All work must be physically performed within the United States at all times. In addition, you must be a United States citizen and be able to pass a government-performed public trust background check.

For People is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, and/or veteran status.