Lead Front End Developer

Lateral Insights; Great Falls (VA); Remote; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Lateral Insights is seeking a Lead Front End Developer in Des Moines, IA with remote options for Iowa residents. You will guide the front-end team, set technical direction, and ensure accessibility and design-system compliance for Staff MIUI screens.

This senior role requires hands-on Angular development, mentoring, strong CI/CD knowledge, and collaboration with Java backend teams while upholding government security standards.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Front-End Tech Lead or senior-level front-end engineer.
• Expert knowledge of Angular, SASS, HTML.
• Experience implementing a design system; USWDS experience strongly preferred.
• Formal accessibility certification (CPACC, WAS, or equivalent).
• Hands-on accessibility testing experience using automated tools, screen readers, and manual navigation.
• Strong understanding of CI/CD and front-end deployment workflows.
• Ability to work effectively with Java backend teams.
• Demonstrated leadership skills, mentoring ability, and experience driving engineering best practices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including documentation.
• Understanding of government security and sensitive data handling requirements.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical lead for the front-end codebase (Angular, SASS, HTML), setting architecture, direction, and coding standards.
• Develop, review, and maintain high-quality front-end code for Staff MIUI screens.
• Implement and enforce the U.S. Web Design System and State Design System across the project.
• Own accessibility strategy and ensure compliance with WCAG 2.2 AA, Section 508, Title I, and Title II requirements.
• Perform accessibility validation using automated testing tools, screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), and manual keyboard/tabbing navigation.
• Lead code reviews, design reviews, and mentor front-end developers.
• Improve and maintain front-end CI/CD processes and pipelines.
• Identify architectural gaps and define the front-end technical roadmap.
• Collaborate with Java backend teams to integrate APIs and services (no Java development required).
• Produce technical documentation, decision records, and process documentation.
• Apply secure development practices aligned with government security and sensitive data handling requirements.

Skills

Angular

SASS

HTML

Accessibility testing

Leadership

Mentoring

Documentation

Tools

USWDS

CI/CD tooling

Job description

EOE Statement We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Category Information Technology

Description

Role: Lead Front End Developer

Location: Des Moines Iowa - Candidate can work Remotely from State of Iowa

Note: The Position needs the candidate to be a Resident of State of Iowa.

The client requires a dedicated Front-End Tech Lead to support and lead the development of Staff MIUI screens within IWD. This is a senior, lead-level role with responsibility for technical direction, engineering standards, accessibility compliance, and CI/CD improvement. The position combines expert-level front-end engineering with formal accessibility certification, and provides both hands-on development and team leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as technical lead for the front-end codebase (Angular, SASS, HTML), setting architecture, direction, and coding standards.
• Develop, review, and maintain high-quality front-end code for Staff MIUI screens.
• Implement and enforce the U.S. Web Design System and State Design System across the project.
• Own accessibility strategy and ensure compliance with WCAG 2.2 AA, Section 508, Title I, and Title II requirements.
• Perform accessibility validation using automated testing tools, screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), and manual keyboard/tabbing navigation.
• Lead code reviews, design reviews, and mentor front-end developers.
• Improve and maintain front-end CI/CD processes and pipelines.
• Identify architectural gaps and define the front-end technical roadmap.
• Collaborate with Java backend teams to integrate APIs and services (no Java development required).
• Produce technical documentation, decision records, and process documentation.
• Apply secure development practices aligned with government security and sensitive data handling requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Front-End Tech Lead or senior-level front-end engineer.
• Expert knowledge of Angular, SASS, HTML.
• Experience implementing a design system; USWDS experience strongly preferred.
• Formal accessibility certification (CPACC, WAS, or equivalent).
• Hands-on accessibility testing experience using automated tools, screen readers, and manual navigation.
• Strong understanding of CI/CD and front-end deployment workflows.
• Ability to work effectively with Java backend teams.
• Demonstrated leadership skills, mentoring ability, and experience driving engineering best practices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including documentation.
• Understanding of government security and sensitive data handling requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Section 508 and Title I/Title II accessibility compliance.
• Prior work in government or public-sector environments.
• Experience defining engineering standards and leading process improvements.
• Familiarity with enterprise-scale front-end architectures and component libraries.
• Experience writing technical documentation, runbooks, or engineering process guides.