Lead Front-End Developer

One North; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 118,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental & Vision insurance

401(k) plan with employer match

Paid time off

Parental and caregiver leave

Employee perks program

Job summary

One North is seeking a Lead Front-End Developer to steer technical direction across client engagements, collaborating with strategists, designers, and engineers to deliver performant, accessible experiences.

You will mentor developers, set architecture standards, and drive the evolution of design systems from discovery through production handoff. Remote or hybrid options are available; Chicago-area onsite is expected part-time.

Qualifications

• 6+ years front-end development experience, ideally in an agency or consulting environment.
• Advanced practitioner of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript using current best practices.
• Strong proficiency with TypeScript and a typed codebase; ability to model complex data.

Responsibilities

• Lead front-end implementation across client engagements with technical direction from discovery to delivery.
• Mentor developers and provide code reviews, pairing, and guidance.
• Establish architecture, standards, and implementation approaches with architects and project teams.
• Collaborate with designers to translate design intent into production-ready experiences.
• Guide design systems and component libraries across client work.

Skills

6+ years experience

HTML/CSS/JavaScript

TypeScript

React/Next.js

Front-end architecture

CSS/SCSS

Design systems

Figma proficiency

Responsive design

WCAG accessibility

Tools

React

Next.js

Contentful

Sanity

Contentstack

Git workflows

Framer Motion

Job description

Bring your technical expertise, passion, and curiosity to a leadership role on a creative and energetic team that builds innovative digital experiences for our clients.

As a Lead Front-End Developer, you’ll work closely with every part of One North. You’ll partner with industry-leading strategists and designers, work alongside architects and developers, and help shape technical direction from discovery through launch.

The Lead Front-End Developer provides technical leadership across client engagements while staying close to the craft of delivery. You’ll guide implementation decisions, mentor developers, support project planning, and help teams deliver work that is performant, accessible, maintainable, and thoughtfully built.

As a Figma Service Partner, we work deeply within the Figma ecosystem, from early design exploration through production handoff and design system management.

This position is for remote or hybrid workers. Our home office is based in Chicago, and applicants in the Chicago area are expected to be in the office part time for a light hybrid onsite/remote work model. We are also open to remote locations across the U.S.

Itching to extend and build upon your passion for digital craft? You found the right place.

Key Responsibilities

• Craft beautiful, useful end-user experiences while engineering for performance, accessibility, and maintainability
• Lead front-end implementation efforts across client engagements, providing technical direction from discovery through delivery
• Establish project-level architecture, development standards, and implementation approaches in partnership with architects and project teams
• Identify technical risks early and recommend practical mitigation strategies
• Provide thoughtful guidance, code review, pairing, and mentorship for front-end developers and senior front-end developers
• Partner with designers to translate design intent into pixel-considered, production-ready experiences
• Guide implementation of design systems, component libraries, and front-end standards across client work
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teammates to deliver strategic solutions to our clients’ challenges
• Contribute to estimation, planning, staffing recommendations, and scope definition for front-end work
• Help evolve internal standards, component patterns, AI-enabled workflows, and engineering practices

Hard Skills/Qualifications

• 6 or more years of professional front-end development experience, ideally in an agency or consulting environment
• Advanced practitioner of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript using current best practices
• Strong proficiency with TypeScript. Comfortable in a typed codebase and able to model complex data well
• Significant production experience with React and Next.js
• Strong understanding of front-end architecture, component design, and scalable implementation patterns
• Bespoke CSS/SCSS fluency. Comfortable architecting styles from scratch without leaning on Tailwind or other utility frameworks. We value craft over shortcuts here
• Experience designing, building, consuming, and governing component libraries and design systems
• Deep proficiency with Figma and the broader Figma product suite (Figma Design, Dev Mode, FigJam, variables, libraries). You can navigate complex files, spot opportunities and conflicts early, and partner fluently with designers
• Ability to build resilient, responsive sites that deliver consistent experiences across screen sizes, devices, and browsers
• Demonstrated ability to meet WCAG 2.2 accessibility standards
• Solid grasp of SEO fundamentals, especially semantic markup and Core Web Vitals
• Hands-on experience with headless CMSs (Contentful, Sanity, Contentstack, or similar), including content modeling collaboration in addition to integration
• Comfortable integrating third-party libraries and SDKs to meet project requirements
• Confident with Git workflows, branching strategies, and code review
• Experience with JavaScript animation libraries (GSAP, Framer Motion, Three.js, etc.)
• Demonstrated success leading technical delivery across projects and mentoring developers

Soft Skills

• Exceptional communicator who genuinely enjoys collaboration
• Strong mentoring and coaching mindset
• Ability to align technical decisions with business goals and client needs
• Sharp eye for detail and high personal standards around the work
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and making informed recommendations

  Benefits

  • Our comprehensive benefits program includes Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Health coverage, as well as a health savings account with employer-funded contributions.
  • We also offer Dental and Vision insurance. All of our full-time employees are eligible for Life/AD&D insurance and Short/Long Term Disability insurance free of cost, with the option to add additional voluntary coverage if desired.
  • One North’s 401(k) plan allows employees to save for retirement through pre-or post-tax contributions along with employer-matched funds for maximized savings potential.
  • Our Transportation Benefits enable employees to also make pre-tax contributions to pay for parking and public transit needs.
  • We know how important unwinding can be for inspiration, innovation and productivity. Our full-time employees earn 4 weeks of paid time off, in addition to company paid holidays. Employees begin to accrue additional time off once they reach their 3-year and 10-year anniversaries with the business.
  • One North also understands how critical it is for parents to bond with their new additions. We provide paid Parental and Primary Caregiver Leave to assist and support employees who experience a new birth, adoption or foster placement of a child.
  • We also offer an Employee Perks Program that offers member-only discounts and corporate rates on everything from pizza and the zoo, to movie tickets, car rentals, and hotels.

  We reserve the right to pay above or below the base salary range of $118,100-$174,700 based on factors unrelated to sex, race, or any other protected classification.

  Additional earnings may be available through incentive programs like annual bonuses, profit sharing, etc.

  The expected posting close date is September 4, 2026.