Lead Front End Engineer

Team: Product Development

Location: York, United Kingdom, Hybrid

Commitment: Regular - Full-time

Workplace Type: hybrid

Key Responsibilities

Frontend Architecture & Engineering 

• Own frontend architecture and technical direction for scalable, secure, maintainable applications. 

• Lead hands-on React and TypeScript development, contributing production code and setting the team standard. 

• Set frontend standards for code structure, state management, API integration and code review. 

• Own frontend performance and reliability, using telemetry and monitoring to find and fix issues. 

• Build fast, clear interfaces for complex, data-intensive compliance workflows. 

Full-Stack Delivery 

• Deliver features end to end, including the backend services, APIs and data changes they need. 

• Shape API contracts and service designs with backend, Architecture and Platform teams. 

• Ensure frontend–backend integrations are secure, well tested and architecturally aligned. 

Design System & Frontend Foundations 

• Own the strategy, architecture and evolution of our enterprise design system. 

• Evolve the design system into an AI-consumable platform for engineers, coding assistants and autonomous agents. 

• Define reusable components, design tokens, interaction patterns, layouts and accessibility standards. 

• Keep the design system and frontend foundations aligned with wider technical architecture. 

Quality, Testing & Delivery 

• Set automated testing strategy across unit, integration, end-to-end, visual regression and accessibility testing. 

• Embed frontend quality gates for code quality, test coverage and security in CI/CD pipelines. 

• Build accessibility into components, patterns and automated validation. 

• Balance delivery speed with usability, consistency, maintainability, security and user trust. 

Agentic Product Development 

• Define how AI agents turn product intent into interfaces using approved components and standards. 

• Maintain agent instructions, reference implementations, rules and machine-readable frontend context. 

• Embed design system and frontend knowledge into agentic workflows with AI Enablement and Engineering. 

• Govern agent-generated interfaces and code, including accessibility, visual regression and component conformance checks. 

Technical Leadership & Team Management 

• Line-manage a blended team of permanent and consultancy UI Engineers, covering performance, coaching, development, workload and hiring. 

• Lead the Design System Forum with Product, Engineering and Architecture to govern standards and priorities. 

• Act as frontend technical authority, aligning with Product, Architecture, Security and Platform on priorities and regulatory requirements. 

• Drive continuous improvement in delivery predictability, system quality and team effectiveness. 

• Carry out other duties as reasonably required at Associate Director level. 

Skills and Experience

• Strong hands-on React and TypeScript background, guiding frontend architecture in complex, data-intensive environments. 

• Experience building and integrating backend services and APIs to deliver features end to end. 

• Experience creating or governing enterprise design systems, components, design tokens and interaction patterns. 

• Deep knowledge of frontend performance, automated testing, CI, accessibility and operational readiness. 

• Practical use of AI-assisted development tools and agentic delivery workflows. 

• Proven leadership of high-performing engineering teams and effective engagement with technical and non-technical stakeholders. 

Desirable Skills

• SaaS, enterprise or regulated software experience, such as financial services or compliance. 

• Storybook, visual regression, automated accessibility testing and frontend quality tooling. 

• Cloud-based environments and secure engineering practices. 

• Managing permanent employees alongside consultancy partner resources. 

• Product analytics, usability testing and behavioural telemetry. 

Minimum Qualifications

Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience