We design and build custom websites for companies, colleges, publications, and organizations all across the Midwest. We put a great deal of thought and effort into each website that we make, so that they’re easy to use and easy to find.

We believe in thoughtful user experiences, detail-oriented designs and impeccably clean code. If you enjoy solving big problems, working in small teams and growing yourself as a web professional – then we want to talk to you.

What You’ll Be Doing

You should have an insatiable appetite for learning new things and improving upon existing ones. Typically, you’ll find yourself working on a variety of web-related projects, informing our designers on what is technically possible and developing elegant solutions that will fix our client’s problems.

Teamwork is very important to us. Getting your work done on time and with the highest of quality standards is essential so that we all succeed.

We expect you to rise to challenges you haven’t faced before and be comfortable asking for help when you really need it.

If you’re the right one for us, then you pay attention to the tiniest of details, adhere to strict coding standards, meet your milestones and take great pride in your work.

Besides having all these other great qualities, you must be able to code well structured HTML/CSS, Javascript and PHP. We also expect you to know how to setup and manage MYSQL databases for WordPress installations.

Although not required, you should be comfortable working with HAML, SASS and LESS. Admittedly, these are fairly new programming languages, however if you’re the one we’re looking for, learning new programming languages is something you do with ease anyway.

Things You Must Posses

• Algorithm savvy – You have real world experience with common computer algorithms and how to apply them in the browser.
• Standards advocate – You excel at building modern non-table based interfaces using semantic markup and CSS for layout.
• Browser aficionado – You know the quirks of the major browsers and know how to work around each of their shortcomings.
• DOM disciple – You understand how your HTML & CSS affects JavaScript.
• JavaScript guru – You know the bulk of the JavaScript language inside and out including some of the intricacies of popular libraries like jQuery
• Passionate – When building something cool, you forget what time it is and you can’t wait for the next challenge.
• Pragmatic – Support for older browsers is still a reality, know how to deal with the challenges of that while still being innovative.

Practical Requirements

• Web front-end programming (HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript).
• PHP Scripting language and MYSQL database knowledge.
• Creating custom content management systems and implementing existing ones like WordPress and ExpressionEngine.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Photoshop skills are a plus.
• Coding for responsive design is a plus.
• Skills in designing user interfaces and UX design experience is a plus.

How To Apply

Send us a personal letter telling us why you are the perfect person for this position, your resume, some examples of code that you have written, and anything else that will make you stand out to careers@usmangroup.com.

A couple of things to note. This is a full-time position. We offer flexible work schedules, two weeks paid vacation after one year of employment and health care benefits after 90 days.

If we think you’re a good fit, we’ll get in touch with you on next steps for the application process.

In the spirit of transparency, I thought it might be a good idea to share with the outside world our own company’s recipe for success – in no specific order…

1. Encourage collaboration and foster an environment for positivity with all players on our team.
2. Follow our project process and checklist for every project we engage in. We will skip over those tasks that aren’t relevant to the project.
3. Be highly selective on the sorts of projects we take on. We have limited resources, so we must be cautious on the opportunities we pursue and the commitments we promise to keep. Our reputation is on the line for each and every project we take on. Always. One bad project could severely ruin our good name or hinder the quality we’re known for. To that end, we’ll work only on projects we know we can deliver on.
4. Choose strategic partners wisely and never use an untested partner on an actual client engagement. We run the risk of losing the account and/or project should they fail to deliver on their part. If a partner happens to fail us, we will not work with them again.
5. Do not bite off more than we can chew. There will be times when we’re slammed with client/project work and will have to either pass on the opportunity or let the client know roughly when we can realistically start on their project.
6. Be sincere – always. If we’re honest with our clients as to our thoughts and opinions on a project deliverable, they will appreciate our professional candor. Our recommendations will be sincere and focused on solving our clients needs, and not lining our pockets.
7. Come together as a team to solve the project problem(s) at hand. Those who ask for help will get it, regardless of rank. We will all pitch in where we can.
8. The best idea wins. It doesn’t matter who came up with the idea either. Whether it is one of our players or the clients’. We will cultivate a culture that rewards substance over rank.
9. On open-projects, we will communicate directly with the client at least once per week. On finished-projects, we will not let them feel forgotten, so following up at least once per quarter with key account stake-holders is mandatory.
10. We must seek out clients that appreciate long-term business relationships and view us as strategic business partners rather than run-of-the-mill vendors.
11. Fire those that do not complete their work, deliver results, take constructive critiques well or value team work.
12. Refuse to participate in solicited spec work requests.

SMaC stands for Specific, Methodical and Consistent. What’s your company’s SMaC business recipe for success?