Principal React Engineer

Ocho People; Belfast; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A top-tier technology company in the UK is seeking a Principal React Engineer to shape their front-end architecture and influence technical direction. This role involves modernising applications and collaborating with cross-functional teams to build enterprise-scale digital solutions. The ideal candidate has over 5 years of experience with React and TypeScript, and strong leadership skills. An attractive salary package ranges from £80,000 to £100,000, with a hybrid working model requiring only 2 days on-site in Derry or Belfast.

Benefits

Exceptional salary package

Strong engineering culture

Collaborative environment

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience building complex front-end applications at scale.
• Experience writing high-quality unit, integration, and functional tests.
• Strong understanding of micro-frontend architecture.

Responsibilities

• Design and evolve front-end architecture for complex, distributed systems.
• Ensure UI/UX designs are technically feasible.
• Develop new user-facing features using modern, component-driven development.

Skills

React 18+

TypeScript

Advanced hooks

Performance optimisation

Component-driven development

Documentation

Strong communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or similar discipline

Tools

TanStack Query

Tailwind CSS

Vite

Cypress

Storybook 8

MSW

Nx Workspace

React Hook Form

Job description

Principal React Engineer

The Opportunity

We’re partnering with a highly regarded technology organisation delivering enterprise‑scale digital platforms used by some of the world’s leading brands.

They are now seeking a Principal React Engineer to play a key role in modernising and evolving their front‑end architecture as part of a major multi‑year transformation programme.

In this role, you will act as the technical leader in the React space – shaping front‑end architecture, improving performance, introducing best‑practice engineering standards, and contributing significantly to shared codebases. You’ll collaborate closely with product, UX, backend engineering, and data teams to deliver seamless, scalable, customer‑facing applications used globally.

This is an opportunity to influence technical direction, set standards, and mentor others, while remaining deeply hands‑on in building world‑class front‑end solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and evolve front‑end architecture for complex, distributed systems.
• Ensure UI/UX designs are technically feasible, performant, and accessible.
• Implement information architecture and interaction design aligned with backend specifications.
• Develop new user‑facing features using modern, component‑driven development.
• Build and maintain internal design systems and reusable component libraries.
• Write clean, test‑driven, production‑quality React and TypeScript code.
• Optimise applications for speed, scalability, maintainability, and accessibility.
• Contribute regularly to shared codebases with minimal oversight.
• Participate in the full software development lifecycle and communicate progress to the Development Director.
• Update, maintain, and modernise existing front‑end applications.

Product Analysis & Support

• with Customer Support and Implementation teams to resolve issues and bugs.
• Support cross‑functional teams with technical insights, solutions, and guidance.
• Engage with customers and internal teams on technical requirements or project status.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Stay ahead of front‑end trends and emerging technologies.
• Contribute ideas to improve processes, tools, and product capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to drive innovation across the engineering function.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or similar discipline (or equivalent experience).
• 5+ years’ experience building complex front‑end applications at scale.
• React 18+ & TypeScript expertise, including:
  • Advanced hooks
  • Strict typing, generics
  • Composition patterns
  • Performance optimisation
• Experience with:
  • TanStack Query, Router, Table, Virtual
  • Vite
  • React Hook Form & Zod
  • Nx Workspace
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Vitest, Cypress, MSW
  • Storybook 8
• Strong understanding of component‑driven development and design systems.
• Knowledge of micro‑frontend architecture, Nx monorepos, and domain‑driven design.
• Experience writing high‑quality unit, integration, and functional tests.
• Ability to break down complex problems and collaborate with cross‑functional teams.
• Strong communication, documentation>

Desirable Skills

• Experience working with large‑scale API‑driven platforms.
• Understanding of cloud‑native architecture (Azure, AWS, or GCP).
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and modern DevOps practices.
• Exposure to back‑end or full‑stack environments.
• Experience working in fast‑moving or customer‑facing product environments.

Why Join?

• Play a pivotal role in a major front‑end platform modernisation.
• Lead technical direction in React while remaining fully hands‑on.
• Work across enterprise‑scale products used globally.
• Hybrid working with only 2 days on‑site in Derry or Belfast.
• Exceptional salary package: £80,000 – £100,000.
• Strong engineering culture, collaborative environment, and real autonomy.
• Opportunities to influence architecture, standards, and front‑end strategy.