Meet the Experts: Liam Gladdy

WP Engine’s mission to power confidence online relies on the dedication and expertise of more than 1,000 global employees. 

The combined effort of our entire team—from the WordPress support specialists troubleshooting technical challenges to the engineers driving innovation across our tools and technologies to the passionate professionals pouring their talents into our Agency Partner Program—ensures the continued growth and success of WP Engine and our customers alike.

Our Meet the Experts series shines a light on the individuals who bring this mission to life through their work every day. 

In this feature, we’re excited to introduce Liam Gladdy, a Senior Software Engineer living in Bristol whose work is pivotal to improving the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin and maintaining our internal APIs and services.

Say hello to Liam!

Meet Liam Gladdy, a seasoned developer with a passion for WordPress who’s been using WP Engine for many years—even before becoming part of our team. 

He’s a self-professed “open-source nerd” who spends just as much time working on open-source projects outside work as he does when he’s clocked in. When he’s not coding, you can find Liam…well, at home, currently. 

“I recently bought my first house, so I’m in a crash course for all the household maintenance tasks I’ve never had to worry about before,” he jokes. 

“I can tell I’m going to become obsessive over how good my lawn looks!”

Liam’s career journey

Liam’s career started at an agency where he was first introduced to WP Engine, as the company chose us as the foundation for many of their clients’ WordPress sites. 

He joined Delicious Brains in 2021 as one of the two lead developers building Advanced Custom Fields, one of WordPress’s most popular plugins. When WP Engine acquired Delicious Brains in 2022, he found himself at home with a company that values deep technical expertise and community contribution.

As a Senior Software Engineer, Liam brings more than 12 years of hands-on experience with ACF to his role. Most of his daily responsibilities focus on enhancing ACF—a colossal project spanning more than 150,000 lines of code—and he has taken on additional work optimizing our internal APIs and services to ensure WP Engine sites stay up-to-date and secure.

Throughout his career, Liam has learned that building software for others requires more than just technical know-how; it demands a holistic view of how users interact with technology. 

“It’s easy to build something in isolation and think it’s perfect,” he says, “but while your code may work exactly as you want, users will almost certainly want to use it in different ways you’ve not considered.”

Working closely with the exceptional user-experience experts and product designers on the ACF team has helped him embrace a collaborative approach that factors both functionality and usability into every new update.

When asked what he loves most about working at WP Engine, Liam is quick to point to the people. He recalls that transitioning from the small team at Delicious Brains to a larger organization was initially daunting, but that the genuine respect and trust he felt—from the colleagues he collaborates with daily all the way up to CEO Heather Brunner—quickly put him at ease. 

“The support and open dialogue here make me confident to share my views on any project,” he says, 

“Despite working remotely, our culture of support and communication helps keep everyone connected.”

Words of wisdom: Pick your battles

One of the best pieces of advice Liam ever received was to “pick his battles” by practicing the art of collaboration. 

He spent much of his early career working solo, which meant he got used to doing things his own way. Transitioning to a collaborative environment taught him the value of trusting others’ methods and engaging in constructive debate—essential lessons that guide his work to this day.

“When I joined Delicious Brains, I was suddenly surrounded by experts in the field who all had their own way of working. I quickly learned that to work to be a team, I had to put trust in the team,” he says.

“Then, on the occasions when you do need to push back on something, your team trusts that you’re coming from a place of bettering the product—not just pushing to get your own way.”

For aspiring experts in any kind of technology, and specifically for those with a passion for open-source projects, Liam has some advice. Specifically, he recommends taking the time to look to the future and explore modern technologies. 

“Follow the trends and stay ahead of what’s coming next,” says Liam. 

“Headless is becoming more important to many enterprises, and WordPress is an excellent CMS to use as a backend for a headless project. So, if you’re interested in future-proofing your skills, it’s worth understanding tools like Next.js and Faust.js.”

Powered by people

Liam’s extensive expertise and commitment to continuous learning make him an invaluable asset to WP Engine and his work on ACF contributes to a richer experience for all WordPress users. If you’re considering a career at WP Engine, Liam has encouragement for anyone to take the leap!

“We have such a wide range of engineering roles at WP Engine because of the breadth of the systems and services we work with, so there’s really a role for everyone,” he says.

Want to find out more about what it’s like to work at WP Engine? Visit our careers site to explore current openings and check out our blog for more inspiring stories from WP Engine’s experts!