Senior Front-End Developer

About Us

Welcome to the home of the down-right inquisitive.

Reading Room is a user-led, data-centric consultancy. Fundamentally understanding users’ needs, motivation and behaviours in relation to our clients’ products and services is the key to success.

We help all kinds of passionate brands and organisations to realise their digital ambitions. And, as a 80-strong team of digital specialists across London, Bristol and the North West, we cover the whole caboodle – from the deep dive and digital strategy, right through to the design, technology and communications that define how customers feel and interact.

We are not afraid to challenge conventional thinking and we’re well known for our candid, jargon-free approach to delivery.

Our work adheres closely to the principles of user-centric design and delivers client work using agile processes, and in-depth discovery.

Reading Room’s existing client base is impressive, including well-known organisations spanning; central Government, blue light services, public and private healthcare, membership, not-for-profit, charity, and construction… to name a few. In recent times, we’ve seen an uplift in demand and requirement for our specialist services, with a number of new clients joining our growing portfolio.

We’re now proud to be part of the independently owned Rippleffect Group, alongside our sister companies: RONIN International, a research consultancy which is providing an even bigger toolbox for clients to collect data, understand their customer and scale up in other countries, and Fat Media, a traditional full-service agency based in the North West focused on aspiring SMEs.

The Opportunity

We’re seeking an experienced Senior Front End Developer who will complement and bolster our current team of talented developers. You will get to explore new technology and influence ways of working within our collaborative environment, and be a protagonist for best practice. You will learn from our existing team while also being able to contribute your own ideas to help us progress and innovate. We will support you in developing your skills and hope that you will help us develop ours; we are receptive to new solutions and love finding innovative ways of delivering modern software solutions.

We’re looking for someone who’s serious about front-end technologies and also has a keen eye for nice design and really cares about how the things they make end up looking on screen. You’ll have

experience building high-quality, responsive layouts and with silky smooth interactions, transitions and animations, collaborating closely with both the design and development team to come up with beautiful award-winning solutions to challenging yet exciting briefs.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities:

Work with the Front End Development team implementing web applications, and with the Back End Development team to integrate Front End and Back End components

Develop and maintain code standards and guidelines for the Front End team

Collaborate with the UX/UI team to ensure a seamless user experience

Advise on, and drive best practice from both a UI and UX perspective on designs

Optimize web applications for maximum speed and scalability

Work with PMs to ensure project timelines and budgets are met

Review code and provide constructive feedback to team members

Stay up to date with emerging trends and technologies in Front End Development

Communicate effectively with stakeholders and team members

About You

(You don’t need to tick all the boxes to be considered, so please do still apply if you have most of what we’re looking for)

This is a key hire for our business. In recent times, we’ve won a number of new client projects and are looking to grow the team with an individual who has a great deal of experience in Front End development, owns the solution and delivers an exceptional end product that we’re all proud to put our names to, and the client is equally delighted with. We want someone used to working with component-based design systems, who is proficient in modern JavaScript, and who is familiar with frameworks like Vue.js or React.

It goes without saying that you’ll need to be a strong communicator, both verbally and in writing, demonstrate excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, and have a team-orientated approach, with the ability to work independently.

Required Technical Skills:

Extensive knowledge of HTML5, CSS3, SCSS and JavaScript

Experience working with one or more major JS frameworks (Vue, React, Angular)

Development of fully responsive, mobile first, cross browser front ends

Ensuring UI components are compliant with accessibility requirements (AA and AAA)

Experience setting up and configuring cmd line task runners and package builders such as Webpack or Gulp

Working knowledge of Jira, Confluence and BitBucket

Experience integrating front ends with CMS driven websites, particularly Umbraco, Kentico or Sitecore

Strong understanding of the front end web architecture related to the above technologies

Experience working within a Windows based environment

The following additional skills and knowledge would be great, but are by no means essential, so please do still apply if you don’t have these:

An understanding of component based or atomic design patterns

Automated testing; Node.js; TypeScript

Experience working with Storybook; Docker

Experience implementing Core Web Vitals / Lighthouse recommendations

Location & Travel expectations

For the right candidate, we are willing to consider this position on a fully remote basis (UK-based only), or you could be based near to one of our offices (Bristol, London or Lancaster), and prefer to work out of the office regularly, or as a change now and then. Either way, we think it is important to get teams together in person from time to time, so you’ll need to be up for doing this.

what you get

Everyone in our team has access to these as standard and we're continually looking for new ways to provide extra values to our colleagues.

Flexible working

25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays

Retail and gym discounts

Free eye tests and annual flu jabs

Online GP and wellbeing services

Regular social events and free refreshments