Front-End Technical Lead – Wagtail CMS

Black Canyon Consulting; Bethesda (MD); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401k plan with employer contribution

Paid holidays

Vacation

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Black Canyon Consulting (BCC) is seeking a Front-End Technical Lead with strong experience in React, Next.js, Django-integrated front-end development, Headless CMS integration, and Web Design System implementation. This role will lead front-end architecture, delivery, and adoption of a Web Design System for modern, accessible, and scalable public-facing web platforms.

You will join NCBI’s team of web developers and software engineers to build robust, flexible web applications, APIs, and

Qualifications

• BS in Computer Science or equivalent.
• 5+ years of full stack web development using Django, React, and Next.js.

Responsibilities

• Drive adoption of the Web Design System across teams.
• Lead front-end architecture and delivery for public-facing web platforms.
• Mentor front-end developers and collaborate with UX, design, content, and DevOps.

Skills

React

Next.js

Django front-end

Headless CMS

Web Design System

Accessibility

UI design principles

Education

BS in Computer Science

Tools

Django

React

Next.js

Job description

Black Canyon Consulting (BCC) is searching for a Front-End Technical Lead with strong experience inReact,Next.js,Django-integrated front-end development,Headless CMS integration, andWeb Design System implementation. This role will lead front-end architecture, delivery, and adoption of aWeb Design System for modern, accessible, and scalable public-facing web platforms.

You will join NCBI’s team of web developers and software engineers to build robust, flexible web applications, APIs, and services. This role calls for an expert web developer – with knowledge and experience in modern web development, testing, UI design and usability principles, and ability to work effectively with user researchers, designers, product managers, scientists, security and DevOps engineers.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Drive the adoption of the NCBI Web Design System, including component strategy, implementation standards, documentation, reusable patterns, and best practices.
• Guide integration with Headless CMS platforms using Wagtail CMS.
• Consume CMS-driven content through GraphQL APIs, REST APIs, or other structured content services.
• Support front-end development within Django, React, and Next.js-based applications, including templates and static asset workflows.
• Lead implementation of reusable UI components using theWeb Design System.
• Establish front-end coding standards, component patterns, documentation, and review processes.
• Mentor front-end developers and provide technical guidance across projects.
• Collaborate with UX, design, content, backend, CMS, DevOps, product, and stakeholder teams.
• Ensure solutions meet accessibility, performance, SEO, scalability, and maintainability goals.
  Support troubleshooting, testing, deployment, release planning, and production support.

Required qualifications

• BS in Computer Science
• 5+ years of full stack Web applications development, using Django, React, and Next.js.
• Proven front-end technical leadership experience on web platform projects.
• Experience implementing, extending, or supporting adoption of a Web Design System across teams or products.
• Experience integrating with Headless CMS platforms and consuming GraphQL or REST APIs.
• Strong understanding of accessibility, including Section 508 and WCAG.
• Experience with Git, CI/CD, testing, performance optimization, responsive design, and modern front-end workflows.
• Strong communication, mentoring, documentation, and stakeholder collaboration skills

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with public-facing government, scientific, biomedical, or research websites.
• Familiarity with U.S. Web Design System or similar enterprise design systems.
• Experience with Wagtail CMS in a headless or hybrid architecture.
• Experience with accessibility testing tools, SEO, analytics, Core Web Vitals, Docker, cloud hosting, CDN configuration, and Agile teams.

Benefits and Salary

We attract the best people in the business with our competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental and vision coverage, 401k plan with employer contribution, paid holidays, vacation, and tuition reimbursement.

We offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience and location. If you enjoy being a part of a high performing, professional service and technology focused organization, please apply today!