Principal Front End Engineer
Principal Front End Engineer
Location: Remote (1 day per month in Manchester)
Salary: Up to £85,000 + benefits
Role: Principal Front End Engineer
Principal Front End Engineer
Remote | 1 day per month in Manchester | Up to £85,000
We’re working with a well-established UK technology company that builds software used by thousands of automotive retailers to power the online car buying journey.
Their platform connects car buyers, retailers and finance providers, enabling customers to search vehicles, secure finance and complete purchases online or in the showroom.
They are now looking for a Principal Front End Engineer to become the most senior front end technical voice in the business.
The Role
This is a hands-on principal engineering role where you will help shape the direction of front end development across a widely used SaaS platform.
You’ll work closely with a Tech Lead and Back End Principal, forming a senior technical group responsible for guiding engineering decisions and supporting the wider team.
The front end ecosystem has grown organically over time and is made up of several React applications built by different teams. One of the key challenges in the role is helping bring greater consistency and architectural clarity across this environment.
Rather than rebuilding everything from scratch, the focus is on pragmatic, incremental improvement while continuing to deliver product features.
You’ll also mentor other engineers, act as the go-to person for complex front end problems and help drive improvements in engineering standards.
What You’ll Be Doing
• Leading front end architectural direction across multiple applications
• Acting as the technical authority for front end development
• Working hands-on with React and TypeScript in the production codebase
• Mentoring and supporting front end engineers across the company
• Improving engineering standards, testing practices and development workflows
• Helping evolve a mixed React ecosystem into a more consistent platform
Tech Environment
Key technologies include:
• React
• TypeScript
• Next.js (used in parts of the platform)
The broader engineering environment includes:
• AWS
• CI/CD pipelines
• Automated testing frameworks
You’ll be working on long-lived product systems rather than short-term project work.
What They’re Looking For
You’ll likely be a Senior, Lead or Principal Front End Engineer who enjoys staying hands-on while influencing the technical direction of a platform.
Strong candidates typically have:
• Strong experience with React and TypeScript
• Experience working on complex web applications or SaaS platforms
• Involvement in front end architecture decisions
• Experience mentoring or guiding other engineers
• A pragmatic approach to improving legacy or evolving systems
Engineers from product or platform environments will be a particularly good fit.
Working Pattern
This role is almost fully remote.
The team meets once per month in Manchester for collaboration and planning.
Candidates should therefore be based within reasonable travelling distance of Manchester.
Package
• Salary up to £85,000
• Strong pension contribution
• Private healthcare
• Life assurance
• Bonus scheme
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Birthday off
• Holiday buy and sell scheme
• Learning and development support
If you’re a senior front end engineer looking for hands-on technical leadership, real product ownership and the opportunity to shape a widely used platform, this could be a great next step.