The React / Next.js Lead is responsible for driving the architecture, design, and technical leadership of large-scale, high-performance web applications using React, Next.js, TypeScript, and modern frontend tooling. This role oversees multiple developers, establishes coding standards, defines best practices, and partners with architects to modernize legacy web platforms into a modern, cloud-ready front-end ecosystem. The React Lead ensures the front-end codebase is scalable, accessible, performant, secure, and aligned with enterprise design systems and backend integration patterns.

Key Responsibilities

1. Technical Leadership & Frontend Architecture

• Lead the technical direction for the React and Next.js codebase, ensuring modularity, scalability, and maintainability.
• Define architectural patterns including:
  • Component architecture and atomic design
  • Layout systems
  • State management strategy (Redux, RTK Query, Zustand, Recoil, Context API)
  • Routing and navigation patterns in Next.js
  • SSR, ISR, SSG strategies
• Work closely with the Web Architect to align on frontend technical vision.
• Establish standards for folder structure, naming conventions, code patterns, and component documentation.

2. Next.js Framework Ownership

• Define the strategy for:
  • Server-Side Rendering (SSR)
  • Static Site Generation (SSG)
  • Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR)
  • Edge rendering and caching policies
• Optimize data-fetching using:
  • getServerSideProps, getStaticProps, getStaticPaths
  • New Next.js App Router features (server components, client components)
  • API routes, middleware, and edge functions
• Ensure correct handling of hydration, loading states, caching, and route transitions.

3. UI Engineering & Design System Integration

• Lead integration with enterprise design systems (e.g., Storybook, Material UI, Chakra UI, custom component libraries).
• Ensure components follow accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1 AA).
• Enforce responsive design best practices across breakpoints, devices, and screen densities.
• Conduct UI performance optimization related to UI rendering, layout shifts, and Core Web Vitals.

4. Performance Optimization & Core Web Vitals

• Own performance tuning efforts for:
  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
  • First Input Delay (FID)
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
  • Time to Interactive (TTI)
  • Memory usage and rendering speed
• Optimize bundling and build processes:
  • Code splitting
  • Tree shaking
  • Lazy loading
  • Server and client-side caching
• Monitor and diagnose performance issues using:
  • Lighthouse
  • Web Vitals reports
  • Chrome DevTools
  • Next.js analyzer

5. State Management & Data Flows

• Define enterprise-grade state management strategies using:
  • Redux Toolkit
  • RTK Query
  • Zustand
  • Context API + Hooks
  • React Query / SWR
• Implement data normalization, caching layers, prefetching, optimistic updates, and error boundaries.
• Ensure predictable and traceable application state flows.

6. Integration with Backend and BFF Services

• Partner with BFF developers to define efficient, secure data contracts.
• Implement authentication and authorization flows:
  • OAuth2
  • JWT
  • SSO / SAML if applicable
• Handle robust error handling, retries, fallbacks, and data validation.
• Enforce secure API consumption patterns and CORS best practices.

7. Code Quality, Reviews & Mentorship

• Lead code reviews with a focus on:
  • Performance
  • Security
  • Maintainability
  • Accessibility
  • Best practices and style standards
• Mentor developers through pair programming, technical workshops, and architectural guidance.
• Define coding standards for:
  • TypeScript
  • React hooks usage
  • Custom hooks development
  • Component reuse
  • API consumption patterns

8. Tooling, DevOps & CI/CD Collaboration

• Collaborate with DevOps to optimize:
  • CI/CD pipelines for web builds
  • Linting and formatting tools (ESLint, Prettier)
  • Automated testing frameworks (Jest, RTL, Cypress, Playwright)
  • Static analysis tools
• Optimize build performance and environment configuration through Next.js settings.

9. Testing Strategy & Quality Assurance

• Define test hierarchy:
  • Unit tests
  • Component tests
  • Integration tests
  • E2E tests
• Implement testing frameworks:
  • Jest + React Testing Library
  • Cypress or Playwright for E2E
• Ensure proper mocking of APIs, services, and data flows.

10. Security, Privacy & Governance

• Enforce frontend security best practices:
  • Avoiding XSS vulnerabilities
  • Securing API tokens
  • Sanitizing inputs
  • Preventing CSRF
  • Using secure cookies
• Implement role-based access controls and secure routing.
• Ensure compliance with enterprise standards for:
  • Data separation
  • User access
  • Privacy policies
  • Logging & observability

11. Documentation

• Document architectural decisions (ADR logs).
• Maintain developer onboarding guides and coding standards.
• Create reusable component documentation and Storybook setups.
• Write technical specifications for complex front-end features.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Technical Skills

• 10+ years of frontend engineering with a specialization in React.
• 3+ years of experience with Next.js in enterprise or production settings.
• Expert in:
  • React (Hooks, Context, Custom Hooks, Lifecycle)
  • Next.js App Router & Pages Router
  • TypeScript
  • HTML5, CSS3, Sass, Styled Components, Tailwind (or equivalent)
  • Node.js, npm/yarn
• Strong understanding of:
  • SSR, SSG, ISR
  • Web performance optimization
  • Modern browser APIs
  • Responsive and accessible design
• Experience integrating with REST, GraphQL, and WebSocket APIs.

Additional (Nice-to-Have) Skills

• Experience with micro-frontends or monorepos.
• Familiarity with:
  • NX
  • Turborepo
  • Webpack, Rollup, Vite
• Experience building design systems and component libraries.
• Experience with Azure DevOps pipelines or GitHub Actions.

Soft Skills & Competencies

• Excellent communication and leadership skills.
• Strong decision-making ability with architectural trade-offs.
• Collaborative mindset with cross-team empathy.
• Ability to mentor, coach, and elevate team capabilities.
• Strong ownership mentality and attention to detail.
• Ability to handle complex business requirements and break them into technical deliverables.

Education & Background

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Portfolio of large-scale React/Next.js apps or open-source contributions preferred.
  
  
  Compensation, Benefits and Duration

Minimum Compensation: USD 50,000
Maximum Compensation: USD 177,000
Compensation is based on actual experience and qualifications of the candidate. The above is a reasonable and a good faith estimate for the role.
Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full time employees.
This position is available for independent contractors
No applications will be considered if received more than 120 days after the date of this post