Lead Front End Engineer - React

Who We Are:

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse. 

Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences.  Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work. 

We're seeking a talented Lead Front-End Engineer to spearhead the development of high-quality, production-ready React/NextJS single-page applications. In this role, you'll be instrumental in architectural decisions, driving code quality, and mentoring a team of front-end developers within an Agile environment. You'll collaborate closely with design and marketing teams to craft optimal user experiences, engage with clients to understand their needs, and own projects from ideation to delivery. If you're a strong communicator with a deep understanding of modern front-end technologies, a knack for building reusable code, and a desire to make a significant impact, we encourage you to apply and help us build the future of our platform!

What you’ll get to do:

• Develop and Maintain High-Quality Front-End Applications: Create prototypes and production-ready React/NextJS single-page applications, ensuring consistency and quality through code reviews, unit testing, accessibility, and performance optimization.
• Lead and Mentor a Front-End Team: Lead an Agile workstream, contributing to planning and estimates, while mentoring junior developers and managing workload effectively.
• Collaborate and Communicate Effectively: Engage with clients, design, and marketing teams to gather requirements, present solutions, and escalate issues, ensuring clear communication with both technical and non-technical colleagues.
• Contribute to Architecture and Integrations: Participate in architectural decisions, implement and maintain them, and contribute to existing and new platform integrations.
• Drive Innovation and Ownership: Build modular, reusable code, stay current with evolving technologies, and take full end-to-end ownership of projects from idea to delivery, including ongoing maintenance and scaling.
• Support Team Growth: Assist in the recruitment process through technical assessments and team fit evaluations.

What you should have:

• Expert React & Next.js Developer: Extensive experience with React, Next.js (including server-side and serverless development), and core front-end concepts.
• Strong TypeScript & State Management Skills: Highly skilled in TypeScript and proficient with state management technologies like Redux/Flux.
• Agile Leadership & Collaboration: Experience leading Agile teams, contributing to planning, and collaborating effectively with stakeholders.
• Modern Front-End Architecture Expertise: Deep knowledge of current trends and best practices in front-end architecture (performance, accessibility, SEO, security, usability), build pipelines (Webpack, Grunt), and tooling (ESLint, Prettier).
• Proficient with Development Tools & Practices: Commercial experience with Git, Continuous Integration, pair programming, Storybook, and integrating with external systems.
• Responsive Design & Cross-Browser Compatibility: Proficient understanding of responsive layouts and cross-browser/device compatibility.
• Team Player with Strong Work Ethic: Great attitude, self-motivated, strong work ethic, willingness to contribute to diverse tasks, and experience mentoring junior developers.

You will collaborate with our UK project team, so we’ll need you to be available until 18:00 PL

Bonus points if you have:

• Additional Commercial eCommerce platform experience – Magento/Hybris /Shopify
• Experience of working with other CMS platforms such as AEM, Sitecore or SFCC
• Experience in building rapid prototypes
• Any knowledge of Nodejs, Express, SQL, Lambda, AWS
• Experience creating site architecture diagrams, wireframes, process flows
• Experience of working on Java/Node/C#/PHP projects would be beneficial

What we can offer you:

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we’ll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We’ll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.

We offer a great benefits package including a discretionary bonus scheme, training opportunities, competitive pension, medical insurance, life assurance, social events, opportunities to buy and sell holidays, family friendly policies, discounts with hundreds of retailers and much more.

Our personality and behaviours: We believe that we are what we do, not just what we say. Our shared values and behaviours show how to bring the VML Enterprise Solution's culture to life through the actions we all take every day:

• Connect Meaningfully
• Inspire Creatively
• Include Purposefully
• Approach Positively

Our brilliant, talented people are what makes VML Enterprise Solutions what we are. That’s why we look for people who go beyond and always push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

AT VML Enterprise Solutions

Our Enterprise Solutions division houses strategic consultants, creative and technical architects and skilled developers and operators that together help some of the world’s leading organisations to deliver outstanding digital experiences across all major routes to market worldwide: marketplaces, online retailers, D2C, B2B and social platforms. With over 4,200 experts in 55 operational centres across 34 countries, our capabilities span the entire buying journey from customer acquisition, through engagement, to conversion and loyalty, driving multi-channel growth for world-leading brands.

We work with some of the most exciting brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, EY, Bosch, Unilever, Ford, DFS, Mercedes-Benz, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Sainsbury’s, Selfridges, Shell and Tiffany & Co. We’ve built over 500 platforms for brands and retailers and generate in excess of $29bn annually for our clients and work with over 50 strategic partners including Adobe, SAP, Salesforce, HCL, Shopify, Sitecore, BigCommerce, commerce tools and Acquia. Our reputation is based on our people, and we believe we have some of the best in the business.

As our business grows internationally, we’re looking for new people to join us on our journey to inspire and take a key role in shaping some of the best commerce solutions, services, and websites in the world. Working as a team, no problem is insurmountable; we share in our client’s successes and believe that anyone can show creative bravery no matter what their role is in the team.

WPP (VML Enterprise Solutions) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers. 

VML is a WPP Agency. For more information, please visit our website, and follow VML on our social channels via Instagram, LinkedIn, and X. 

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