Lead Frontend Engineer

Front End Lead | TypeScript | React | £110,000 + 10% Bonus | Hybrid (3 Days in Maidenhead)

This is an opportunity to step into a hands-on engineering leadership role where your technical vision, architectural judgement and ability to mentor others will directly shape the next generation of digital experiences across multiple brands.

The organisation is undergoing a major digital modernisation, replacing legacy front-end implementations with scalable, performant and accessible platforms powered by a shared UI Library and design system. As Front-End Lead, you will own the technical direction, architecture, and delivery of front-end systems—setting the standards, guiding the engineering craft, and ensuring consistency across a diverse suite of products.

If you're motivated by meaningful ownership, modern engineering challenges and the chance to influence how a large organisation builds front-end technology at scale, this role will give you exactly that.

What you will be working on

You will lead the front-end engineering strategy for multiple brands and digital products, owning everything from architecture to implementation quality.

You will have the opportunity to:

  • Own and evolve the organisation's UI Library and design system, ensuring scalability, maintainability and flexibility for varied product needs.
  • Define a modern, extensible front-end architecture enabling rapid delivery of high-performing websites.
  • Lead technical direction, coding standards and best practices for React and/or Angular applications.
  • Drive adoption of component-based development, accessibility (WCAG) compliance and performance best practices.
  • Shape API contracts and data flows in collaboration with backend teams to optimise performance.
  • Build and ship front-end features using TypeScript and modern frameworks, while balancing short-term delivery with long-term architectural integrity.
  • Improve build tooling, automated testing, CI/CD workflows and observability across front-end systems.

This is a role that blends architectural influence with hands-on delivery, ensuring that front-end engineering accelerates the wider digital transformation.

Technology environment

The environment is modern, TypeScript-first and focused on high-quality front-end engineering at scale.

Frontend

  • React and/or Angular
  • TypeScript
  • UI libraries, shared component libraries, pattern libraries, design systems
  • State management (Redux, Zustand, RxJS or similar)
  • Strong focus on accessibility, performance, consistency and reusability

APIs and Integration

  • RESTful APIs
  • GraphQL exposure
  • Close collaboration with backend teams to optimise data flows

Tooling & Infrastructure

  • Vite, Webpack, modern bundling/build tools
  • Jest, Cypress, Playwright for automated testing
  • Docker, AWS, Firebase
  • CI/CD pipelines and build/release tooling improvements

What you will bring

This role suits a technically strong, hands-on front-end leader who enjoys setting direction while remaining close to the craft.

You should bring:

  • Proven experience leading front-end development in modern product or platform teams.
  • Demonstrated ability to define and maintain scalable UI libraries or design systems.
  • Deep expertise with JavaScript, TypeScript and React and/or Angular.
  • Strong architectural understanding of complex front-end applications.
  • Experience mentoring engineers and elevating engineering practices.
  • Expertise in accessibility, performance, cross-browser compatibility and automated testing.
  • Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence, align and collaborate across teams.
  • Pragmatic leadership, empathy and a growth mindset.

The impact you will have

In this role, you will:

  • Own the technical strategy for front-end systems and define standards that scale across brands.
  • Lead, mentor and grow a team of front-end engineers, fostering a culture of craftsmanship and collaboration.
  • Improve delivery velocity by establishing consistent patterns, reusable components and modern tooling.
  • Ensure front-end applications are reliable, accessible, performant and aligned to business goals.
  • Represent front-end engineering in cross-functional planning and design discussions.
  • Help shape a development culture focused on learning, inclusion and continuous improvement.

Working pattern

This is a hybrid role requiring three days per week in the Maidenhead office.

On-site collaboration is essential for partnering with design, backend engineering and product teams, and for maintaining a high level of shared ownership across functions.

Next steps

Interviews are being scheduled, and strong candidates will progress quickly (1-week).

If you're looking for a leadership role with genuine ownership, architectural influence and the opportunity to shape front-end engineering at scale, now is an excellent time to apply.

Job Details

Company
Wave Talent
Location
Reading, Berkshire, UK
Employment Type
Full-time
Posted