Front End Developer - Outside IR35

Overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a hands-on Front End Lead / Interim Tech Lead to join a growing product engineering team and lead the development of a next-generation SaaS platform built on Microsoft Azure.

This role is ideal for a senior engineer who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys building products from the ground up, and wants to remain deeply involved in coding while leading a small team. You'll be responsible for defining front-end engineering standards, implementing AI-assisted development practices, and driving delivery of a modern React-based application.

Initially offered as a day-rate contract, there is a genuine intention to transition the successful candidate into a permanent Tech Lead position as the engineering function expands.

The Role

As Front End Lead, you will take ownership of the front-end architecture and delivery of a new React/TypeScript application, working closely with Product, Platform and Data teams.

This is a highly technical leadership position where you will:

• Lead development of a greenfield React/TypeScript front end.

• Remain hands-on in the codebase on a daily basis.

• Line manage and mentor a small front-end engineering team.

• Define and implement engineering best practices.

• Drive AI-assisted software development across the team.

• Establish scalable delivery processes, CI/CD pipelines and quality standards.

• Collaborate with architects and back-end teams to ensure contract-first API integration.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Lead the design, architecture and delivery of a modern React/TypeScript application.

• Act as the technical pace-setter for the front-end team through hands-on coding and code reviews.

• Own front-end API contracts and work closely with back-end engineers to maintain contract-first delivery.

• Build and maintain a scalable component library, design system and application framework.

• Establish engineering standards covering code quality, testing, accessibility, security and performance.

AI-Driven Engineering

• Define and champion AI-assisted development practices.

• Evaluate and implement tooling for:

• Code generation

• Agentic development workflows

• Automated testing

• Code review support

• Establish governance and guardrails around AI usage.

• Measure and demonstrate improvements in engineering productivity and delivery outcomes.

Delivery & Team Management

• Lead a co-located mobilisation period before transitioning to a hybrid working environment.

• Mentor, coach and line manage front-end engineers.

• Drive continuous improvement through pairing, reviews and knowledge sharing.

• Establish clear ways of working, delivery metrics and quality measures.

• Work closely with Product and Architecture teams to deliver against the product roadmap.

Security & Governance

• Ensure security remains a core part of the development lifecycle.

• Support implementation of secure authentication and authorisation using Microsoft Entra ID / MSAL.

• Contribute to customer security assurance activities and secure coding practices.

• Maintain eligibility for work within security-conscious environments.

Essential Experience

• 8+ years' experience in software engineering.

• Strong commercial experience with:

• TypeScript

• React

• Modern front-end architecture and tooling

• Proven experience leading small engineering teams while remaining hands-on.

• Experience delivering SaaS products and greenfield applications.

• Strong API-first / contract-first development experience.

• Deep understanding of:

• Automated testing strategies

• CI/CD pipelines

• Code quality tooling

• Engineering governance

• Demonstrable experience implementing AI-assisted software development practices within production environments.

• Eligibility for UK Security Check (SC) clearance.

Desirable Experience

• Microsoft Azure.

• Microsoft Entra ID / MSAL authentication.

• Data-rich dashboard and analytics products.

• Storybook and design system development.

• Mantine UI framework.

• Defence, regulated industries, logistics or supply chain environments.

• Current SC clearance.

• Experience introducing emerging AI development tooling and agentic workflows.

• Previous contract roles that have transitioned into permanent leadership positions.

Working Arrangements

• Initially based on-site in Bristol for a collaborative mobilisation period.

• Hybrid working model thereafter.

• 40-hour working week with flexibility based on project and business requirements.

• Initial contract engagement of approximately three months with a clear route to a permanent leadership position for the right individual.

Why Join?

• Build a market-leading SaaS product from the ground up.

• Shape engineering culture, standards and ways of working.

• Lead adoption of cutting-edge AI development practices.

• Work within a growing technology team where your influence will directly impact product success.

• Opportunity to move into a long-term permanent Technical Leadership role.