Magnolia is a Java platform, so the people who keep it healthy are Java engineers who also understand content repositories and editor workflows. Teams hire us to upgrade an old Magnolia 5 or 6 instance, move templates toward light development, expose content to a headless front end, or plan the move to another platform. Whole-project work is covered by our Magnolia development services.
What do Magnolia developers get hired to do?
- Upgrades across major versions. Magnolia 5 to 6 changed the admin UI, the module system and the way apps are built. Custom dialogs and apps built for the Magnolia 5 admin often need rewriting rather than patching.
- Light development. Moving templates, dialogs and content types from Java modules into YAML and Freemarker definitions that deploy without a rebuild.
- Headless delivery. Using the REST delivery endpoint and page templates exposed as JSON so a Next.js or React front end can render Magnolia pages and keep the visual editor.
- Author and public instance tuning. Publication, caching, activation queues and the JCR workspace size on a long-running install.
- Multi-site and multilingual setups. Site definitions, shared components and i18n fallbacks across many brands.
- Integration work. Commerce, DAM and identity systems wired in through custom modules or the integration layer.
- Exit planning. Exporting the JCR content tree into a new model, with page structure and permissions mapped.
How do we vet Magnolia developers?
There are few Magnolia engineers on the market, so we test the things that separate them from general Java developers:
- JCR basics: nodes, workspaces, node types, and why a query that works on a small tree stalls on a large one.
- Module versioning and update tasks, and what happens when a module version handler is wrong.
- Light module structure, definitions and how they are overridden per site.
- Spring and dependency injection inside Magnolia modules, not around them.
- Security roles and ACLs on workspaces, including how they affect publication.
- The headless endpoint: how personalised or area-based content is represented in the response.
We also ask for a Magnolia upgrade or migration the candidate shipped, and review how they handled custom code.
Magnolia, AEM or something lighter?
Magnolia and Adobe’s AEM serve the same buyer: a large organisation with many editors and sites. Magnolia is usually the smaller and quicker platform to run, while AEM brings the wider Adobe suite. If the editors mainly manage pages and you do not need either suite, a modern headless CMS is often cheaper to own. Whichever way you lean, we run a short audit first, then give your team a written comparison of staying, upgrading and moving. For the move itself, our migration services cover content mapping, redirects and cutover.
What does the first month look like?
A Magnolia engagement opens with a review of the repository, the author and public instances, and every custom module measured against the version you want to reach. The report that follows lists modules to rewrite and the size of the JCR workspaces, and a small change ships to prove the pipeline. After that the developer takes the first planned deliverable, for example a set of templates moved to light development, or the headless endpoint switched on for one section.
How do you engage a Magnolia developer?
Most teams add one Java engineer with Magnolia experience to their own squad. Larger programmes use IT staff augmentation for several people, or a dedicated team that owns an upgrade end to end. Rates across roles and seniority run from $50 to $150 per hour, quoted after a call. To compare platforms, see hire headless CMS developers.
