Principal Front End Engineer

General Dynamics - IT; United States; Remote; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

General Dynamics - IT is seeking a Senior Software Developer focused on frontend engineering. You will define strategic frontend practices, lead the development of accessible and performant web applications for government customers, and act as the technical authority for frontend architecture.

You will design modern frontend architectures, pipelines, and deployment infrastructure to deliver feature-rich, user-centric experiences.

Qualifications

• Evidence of leading frontend engineering efforts and delivering accessible, scalable web apps.
• Experience architecting modern frontend applications at scale using React and/or Angular.
• Establishing frontend standards, practices, and tooling to improve productivity and code quality.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive frontend engineering strategy across the organization.
• Lead development of accessible, performant web apps for government customers.
• Serve as the frontend technical authority and mentor engineers across levels.

Skills

Frontend architecture leadership

React and/or Angular

Accessibility standards (WCAG/Section

Tools

Webpack

Vite

pnpm

npm

axe-core

eslint-pluginjsx-a11y

Playwright

Cypress

React Testing Library

Angular Testing Library

Job description

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER SENIOR

What You’ll Do

• Define and drive the strategic direction for frontend engineering practices, tooling, and skillset across the organization
• Lead the development of accessible, performant, and user-centered web applications that serve government customers
• Serve as the technical authority and thought leader for frontend architecture and engineering excellence
• Design and implement modern frontend architectures, development pipelines, and deployment infrastructure
• Deliver new features and improvements to our customer-facing applications with a strong focus on user experience and accessibility compliance (Section 508, WCAG)
• Collaborate with product managers to ideate and balance optimal UI/UX experience with implementation effort, making pragmatic trade-offs that deliver value
• Build and maintain component libraries, design systems, and shared frontend infrastructure that enable team velocity and consistency
• Identify opportunities to modernize our frontend stack and take ownership of technical initiatives that improve developer experience and application quality
• Establish and champion frontend best practices including mobile-first development, testing strategies, performance optimization, accessibility standards, and code quality patterns
• Mentor and coach engineers at all levels on frontend technologies and establish career development pathways for frontend specialization
• Influence technical decisions across teams and serve as a strategic advisor on frontend initiatives
• Work across the full stack when needed to solve problems end-to-end - backend experience is valuable but frontend is your primary focus

What We’re Looking For Evidence of Frontend Engineering Accomplishment

• Demonstrated track record of leading and delivering multiple production-ready, accessible,
• Proven experience architecting and implementing modern frontend applications at scale using React and/or Angular
• Track record of establishing frontend engineering standards, practices, and tooling that improve team productivity and code quality
• Working experience with frontend build tooling, bundling strategies, and deployment pipelines (Webpack, Vite, pnpm, npm, or similar)
• Strong understanding of web accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA minimum, Section 508 compliance) with practical implementation experience including accessibility linting (axe-core, eslint-pluginjsx-a11y) and automated accessibility testing in CI/CD pipelines
• Experience with automated frontend testing strategies including unit testing, component testing, and end-to-end UI testing with tools like Playwright, Cypress, or similar
• Familiarity with frontend infrastructure, CDN strategies, asset optimization, and progressive enhancement patterns
• Experience with design systems, component libraries, and maintaining consistency across multiple applications

Technical Excellence

• Strong proficiency in modern JavaScript/TypeScript and deep understanding of web platform APIs
• Solid understanding of CSS architecture, mobile-first responsive design, and cross-browser compatibility
• Working knowledge of automated testing strategies including unit testing (Jest, Vitest), component testing (React Testing Library, Angular Testing Library), and end-to-end UI testing (Playwright) 1
• Experience integrating accessibility validation into testing pipelines using axe-core or similar tools
• Experience with state management patterns and asynchronous data handling in frontend applications
• Practical knowledge of web performance optimization, Core Web Vitals, and frontend monitoring
• Understanding of API integration patterns, GraphQL or REST, and working with backend services
• Familiarity with cloud deployment patterns for frontend applications (CDN, static hosting)
• Experience establishing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines with automated accessibility checks, linting, and testing

Product Mindset & User Experience

• Strong product thinking with ability to balance user needs, business requirements, and technical constraints
• Willingness to work closely with product managers to ideate on best UI/UX experiences, making pragmatic trade-offs between optimal user experience and implementation effort
• Working knowledge of modern UI/UX principles, design patterns, and user-centered design methodologies
• Experience collaborating with product managers and designers throughout the development lifecycle on customer-facing applications
• Ability to provide technical input during design discussions and advocate for feasible, accessible solutions
• Data-driven approach to measuring and improving user experience through analytics and user feedback

Leadership, Ownership, & Communication

• Demonstrated ability to lead large-scale technical initiatives from vision to production, influencing outcomes across multiple teams
• Quality driven, sets the standard for excellence in communication, code, and documentation
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts and strategic vision clearly to engineers, designers, product managers, executives, and external stakeholders
• Proven track record of mentoring and developing engineers at all levels, building organizational frontend capability
• Recognized advocate for sound engineering practices who establishes patterns and influences engineering culture
• Comfort leading cross-functional initiatives, making architectural decisions with organizational impact, and navigating technical/business trade-offs at the principal level

Required

• Must be a US Citizen and able to obtain and maintain Public Trust 6C
• Position is remote, with approximately 0-10% business travel

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