Senior Software Engineer I (JavaScript)

Elsevier; City Of London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension plan

Home/office/commute allowance

Generous vacation and sabbatical

Flexible working hours

Personal Choice budget

Employee discounts

Job summary

Elsevier’s ScienceDirect team in London is seeking a Senior Software Engineer I (JavaScript) to build intelligent, scalable web applications used by millions of researchers worldwide.

You will work in a cross-functional team, embracing AI-assisted development to accelerate implementation, testing and refactoring while maintaining high quality and performance.

Qualifications

• Proficiency in HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
• Experience building modern web apps with React.
• Experience with Node.js/Express or similar backend services.
• Experience consuming RESTful APIs.
• Familiarity with Agile practices (TDD, Pair Programming, CI/CD).
• Strong collaboration and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop modern web applications as part of a cross-functional team.
• Implement intuitive UIs using React and integrate with Node.js backends.
• Collaborate with UX/UI designers to translate designs into code.
• Ensure performance, accessibility and cross‑browser compatibility.
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools to accelerate tasks and improve quality.
• Participate in code reviews, testing and documentation.

Skills

HTML/CSS/JavaScript

React

Node.js/Express

RESTful APIs

Agile practices

Testing/CI/CD

Collaboration

Job description

Senior Software Engineer I (JavaScript)

Ready to build intelligent, high‑impact applications that push the boundaries of modern JavaScript and AI tooling?

Do you thrive in solving complex engineering challenges and shaping scalable, future‑ready solutions?

About the team:

ScienceDirect is the world's leading collection of science information on the web and Elsevier's flagship product. We are looking for talented engineers to contribute to a culture of technical excellence paired with strong collaboration and modern engineering practices.

Our teams are increasingly adopting AI-assisted development workflows, and we are particularly interested in engineers who are excited about using AI tools to help design, write, test, and improve software.

About the role:

We are seeking a talented and self‑motivated Frontend Software Engineer with strong skills in React and Node.js and a collaborative mindset.

You will work as part of a cross‑functional product development team building modern web applications used by millions of researchers worldwide.

Our teams are actively adopting AI-assisted development practices, and we are looking for engineers who are enthusiastic about using AI tools as part of their day‑to‑day workflow. This includes using AI to accelerate implementation, support refactoring, generate tests, investigate issues, improve documentation, and assist with code review.

You should be comfortable experimenting with AI to accelerate development while applying strong engineering judgement to ensure code quality, maintainability, and performance. We are not looking for engineers who rely uncritically on AI‑generated output; we are looking for engineers who use these tools to improve the quality, speed, and effectiveness of software development.

Key responsibilities:

• Work as part of a highly collaborative, cross‑functional, agile product development team to develop modern responsive web applications
• Implement intuitive, interactive, and visually appealing user interfaces using React
• Work closely with UX/UI designers to translate design concepts into functional web applications
• Ensure applications are optimized for performance, accessibility, and responsiveness across devices and browsers
• Use AI‑assisted development tools to help design, implement, refactor, and debug software.
• Critically evaluate, adapt, and validate AI‑generated output to ensure it meets engineering and quality standards
• Help the team evolve effective AI‑supported development workflows.
• Write well‑tested, documented, and peer‑reviewed code
• Work closely with Product Managers and QA to ensure software meets user and business requirements
• Contribute to engineering best practices, including testing, CI/CD, code review, and continuous improvement
• Support the growth of the London engineering team through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and participation in recruitment

Requirements:

Core Engineering Skills

• Strong knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Experience building modern web applications using React
• Experience working with Node.js, Express, or related backend services
• Experience working with RESTful APIs
• Familiarity with agile development practices such as:
• Test‑Driven Development
• Pair Programming
• Continuous Integration
• Automated testing and deployment
• Strong collaboration and communication skills with a positive and constructive approach to teamwork

AI‑Assisted Development Experience

We are particularly interested in engineers who actively use AI tools as part of a software engineering workflow.

Examples include:

• Experience using AI coding assistants such as GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or similar tools
• Comfort working in an AI‑augmented development environment
• Ability to break work into well‑scoped tasks that AI tools can assist with effectively
• Curiosity about how AI can improve developer productivity, experimentation, and software quality
• Enthusiasm for exploring and sharing effective ways of using AI in software engineering

Experience with these tools is valued, but curiosity and enthusiasm to learn are equally welcome.

Why join us?

Join our team and contribute to a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. If you are ready to advance your career and make a significant impact, we encourage you to apply.

Work in a way that works for you

We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organization. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance, and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long‑term goals.

• Working flexible hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive.

Working for you

We know that your well‑being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. These are some of the benefits we are delighted to offer:

• Comprehensive Pension Plan
• Home, office, or commuting allowance.
• Generous vacation entitlement and option for sabbatical leave
• Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, and Family Care leave
• Flexible working hours
• Personal Choice budget
• Internal communities and networks
• Various employee discounts
• Recruitment introduction reward
• Employee Assistance Program (global)

About the business –

ScienceDirect is home to almost one‑quarter of the world's peer‑reviewed full‑text scientific, technical, and medical content. More than 15 million researchers, healthcare professionals, teachers, and students rely on ScienceDirect as a trusted source of nearly 2,200 journals and 26,000 book titles. The platform supports research and education with rich interactive content, including video, graphs, datasets, and images, along with tools that help users discover and stay up to date with relevant research.

We know your well‑being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits.

We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or please contact 1-855-833-5120.

We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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