Technical Lead with Contentful

WPP Enterprise Solutions; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

WPP Enterprise Solutions seeks a Contentful Technical Lead to own enterprise platform delivery, lead client-facing workshops, and influence architecture across Contentful, React, and AWS services. You will translate discovery into a concrete backlog, guide engineers, and ensure robust practices in security, performance, testing, CI/CD and observability, while collaborating with UK teams.

This role requires strong leadership, deep CMS expertise, and excellent communication to align technical

Qualifications

• Strong experience with Contentful and headless CMS architectures.
• Proficient React and TypeScript in production-grade apps.
• Solid AWS knowledge and integration layer design.
• Expertise in API design and system integration patterns.
• Experience leading technical discovery and solution design.
• Fluent English and strong client-facing communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical discovery, facilitating client-facing workshops and translating business requirements into technical decisions.
• Shape the overall implementation approach across Contentful, React, AWS services and enterprise systems.
• Define clear boundaries between CMS capabilities, frontend functionality, integration/middleware services and backend business logic.
• Decide where integrations should be implemented and define appropriate API and integration patterns.
• Review and evolve Contentful content models, composition rules and reusable content patterns.
• Shape the AWS-based integration and service layer connecting Contentful and the frontend with APIs, identity/profile services and other systems.
• Turn discovery outcomes into technical scope, architecture and an actionable implementation backlog.
• Lead engineers throughout delivery, providing hands-on guidance, code reviews and support with complex technical decisions.
• Ensure strong engineering practices around security, performance, automated testing, CI/CD and observability.

Skills

Contentful CMS

React

TypeScript

AWS

API design

Architecture leadership

Client-facing comms

English fluent

Tools

Contentful integration

REST APIs

CI/CD pipelines

AWS services

Job description

Who We Are

WPP Enterprise Solutions designs, builds, and operates the growth systems that competitive businesses rely on. In a world where Al is reshaping how companies drive growth, we lead clients in business transformation and marketing modernization, connecting strategy directly to execution. Our 12,000 experts in engineering and platforms, commerce, consulting, content transformation, CRM, and CX work within a unified global operating unit across 40+ markets. WPP Enterprise Solutions works alongside best-in-class partners including Adobe, AWS, Braze, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Shopify, as well as innovators in AI, to deliver growth solutions tailored to the needs of our clients’ businesses. VML, part of WPP, supports WPP Enterprise Solutions by helping brands activate transformation through creativity and experience.

Contentful Technical Lead wanted to join a high-profile digital experience project for a major global brand.

The opportunity

This is a high-impact technical leadership role combining ownership of enterprise platform delivery, client-facing discovery and technical workshops with strong architectural influence and a balance between technical leadership and hands-on engineering.

You will help shape a modern, composable platform built around Contentful, React and an AWS-based integration and service layer, working closely with architects, engineers and client stakeholders. The project's technical landscape includes Contentful, AWS infrastructure, APIs and identity/profile services.

A key part of the role is understanding Contentful as part of a wider technology ecosystem. You will make pragmatic technical decisions about what should be handled by Contentful out of the box, what belongs in the frontend or AWS middle layer, and how integrations with existing services should be designed.

The initial phase will focus heavily on technical discovery, turning requirements, existing architecture and integration constraints into clear technical decisions and an actionable implementation backlog.

What you'll get to do

• Lead technical discovery, facilitating client-facing workshops and translating business requirements into technical decisions.
• Shape the overall implementation approach across Contentful, React, AWS services and enterprise systems.
• Define clear boundaries between CMS capabilities, frontend functionality, integration/middleware services and backend business logic.
• Decide where integrations should be implemented and define appropriate API and integration patterns.
• Review and evolve Contentful content models, composition rules and reusable content patterns.
• Shape the AWS-based integration and service layer connecting Contentful and the frontend with APIs, identity/profile services and other systems.
• Turn discovery outcomes into technical scope, architecture and an actionable implementation backlog.
• Lead engineers throughout delivery, providing hands-on guidance, code reviews and support with complex technical decisions.
• Ensure strong engineering practices around security, performance, automated testing, CI/CD and observability.

These areas align with the planned technical discovery covering Contentful, AWS infrastructure, API contracts, profile services, security, CI/CD and integrations.

What you should have

• Strong commercial experience with Contentful and headless CMS architectures.
• Strong React and TypeScript experience in production-grade applications.
• Good practical knowledge of AWS, particularly cloud-based services and integration layers.
• Strong understanding of API design, middleware and system integration patterns.
• Experience designing solutions where a headless CMS is part of a larger enterprise architecture, rather than a standalone platform.
• Ability to make sound architectural decisions about what belongs in the CMS, frontend, middle layer or backend services.
• Experience integrating CMS platforms with APIs, identity/profile services and other enterprise systems.
• Proven experience leading technical discovery, requirements analysis and solution design.
• Strong client-facing communication skills and the ability to explain technical decisions and trade-offs to both technical and business stakeholders.
• Experience providing technical leadership while remaining hands-on when needed.
• Fluency in English.

Technical environment

• Contentful
• React / TypeScript
• AWS-based services and integration layer
• REST APIs and service integrations
• Identity and profile services
• Server-side rendering
• CI/CD and automated testing
• Performance, security, monitoring and observability

You will collaborate with our UK project team, so we'll need you to be available until 18:00 PL.

Bonus points if you have

• Experience with Contentful Personalisation or similar personalisation capabilities.
• Experience with composable or MACH-style architectures.
• Experience with server-side rendered React applications.
• Experience with AWS infrastructure as code and automated environment provisioning.
• Relevant Contentful or AWS certifications.

What we can offer you

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we'll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We'll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.

Our culture thrives on our core values, designed for impact-driven individuals: Heart, Brains and Courage.

We lead with Heart, fostering empathy and trust where genuine connections and human-centric work flourish.

We empower your Brains for innovation, valuing relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence to solve complex challenges.

And we champion Courage, inspiring you to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions that push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

How We Use AI In The Recruitment Process

To ensure more focused and engaging conversations, we leverage AI in our recruitment process exclusively for secure, objective note-taking, never for evaluative judgments. This allows our team to be fully present with you. You are always welcome to request a transcript of these notes or opt out of this feature at any time. Opting out will not impact the outcome of the interview process.

WPP (VML/WPP Enterprise Solutions) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.