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
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed