Principal Frontend Developer

Who we are?
We are a software Consultancy, who provide highly skilled consultants to support client business needs. We work within private and public sectors, including financial services, government, healthcare, property, education, oil & gas, broadcasting, gaming and renewable energy organisations. We are continuously growing as a business, with new client wins and have multiple offices located in the UK, Poland and in Canada. 

About the Role

As our Engineering Practice continues to grow, we are looking for a Principal Frontend Consultant to help shape its future. This is a senior leadership role that sits at the intersection of technical strategy, people development, and client impact.

You will work closely with our Head of Engineering to define and uphold frontend engineering standards, lead our Communities of Practice, develop the engineers around you, and act as a trusted technical partner to our clients. At the same time, you will remain hands-on - taking on Tech Lead responsibilities within client engagements when needed and leading by example in craft.

This is not a purely managerial role, nor a purely technical one. It requires fluency across both and the credibility to operate at the Principal level in all three pillars of our framework: client work, internal collaboration, and technical specialism.

What You'll Be Doing

Technical Strategy & Standards

• Define and own frontend engineering standards across the practice — architecture patterns, testing philosophy, accessibility compliance, and performance benchmarks

• Contribute to the broader engineering strategy alongside Heads of Practice and other Principals

• Establish what good looks like across Core Web Vitals, WCAG compliance, and developer experience — and embed those standards into delivery processes across all engagements

• Stay credibly hands-on: lead by example in complex architectural challenges, performance problems, and high-stakes delivery moments
  
  People Leadership & Development

• Line manage engineers up to Senior level — supporting their growth, contributing to performance reviews, and providing clear, evidence-based guidance

• Mentor engineers across the practice, not just your direct reports — actively developing the next generation of Senior and Principal-level talent

• Define and maintain the hiring bar for frontend engineering; lead and shape our interview process

• Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and high standards
  
  Community of Practice Leadership

• Lead the Frontend Engineering Community of Practice — set the agenda, drive output, and ensure it creates real value for the engineers involved

• Champion best practices in frontend development across the practice: component architecture, testing, accessibility, performance, and developer tooling

• Collaborate with Principal Consultants across Delivery, UCD, QA, and DevOps to align strategy and drive cross-functional improvements

• Drive internal initiatives that produce lasting, measurable improvements to how we work
  
  Client Engagement & Delivery

• Act as a trusted technical advisor to senior client stakeholders — translating business challenges into scalable frontend engineering approaches

• Lead or materially contribute to technical proposals, architecture sessions, and pre-sales conversations

• Take on Tech Lead or Senior Developer responsibilities within client engagements, setting technical direction and ensuring engineering excellence throughout the delivery lifecycle

• Handle complex and challenging client situations with confidence and composure — including escalations and high-pressure delivery moments

• Contribute to the retention and growth of client accounts through the quality of your technical

  leadership and relationships
  
  What We're Looking For
  
  

  Experience & Background

• 8+ years of experience in frontend software engineering, with meaningful time at Senior Consultant level or equivalent

• A track record of technical leadership on complex, client-facing engagements — not just strong individual contribution

• Demonstrable experience mentoring or managing engineers and helping them grow

• Prior experience in a consultancy or agency environment is strongly preferred
  
  Technical

• Deep expertise in modern frontend development — component architecture, state management, build tooling, and the wider ecosystem

• Strong, practical knowledge of accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA as a baseline), web performance (Core Web Vitals), and testing across unit, integration, and E2E

• Able to make high-quality architectural decisions in complex, ambiguous environments and articulate the trade-offs clearly

• Comfortable contributing hands-on in critical delivery situations — this is not a purely strategic

  role

  Leadership & Collaboration

• Proven ability to lead Communities of Practice and shape engineering culture, not just participate in it

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills — equally comfortable talking to engineers and to senior client decision-makers

• Collaborative by nature — works closely across disciplines (Delivery, UCD, QA, DevOps) and brings people with them

• Willing to attend our Poland office as needed

Tech stack

• JavaScript
• React
• Architecture