Front‑End Software Engineer

Reporting To: Marketplace Engineering Manager

Location: Bryanston – In‑office during probation, hybrid thereafter

About the Role

This role is for an experienced front‑end engineer who enjoys working on real production systems and improving them incrementally over time. You'll be part of a team responsible for evolving a large‑scale marketplace platform while ensuring stability, performance, and a high‑quality user experience.

The current platform includes a Java monolith with JSP‑based frontends. You'll help modernise this frontend by contributing to the migration toward a modern, component‑driven architecture—working alongside senior engineers while remaining hands‑on and delivery‑focused.

This is not a leadership or people‑management role. Impact comes through code quality, strong execution, and thoughtful technical contribution.

Role Overview

As an Intermediate Front‑End Software Engineer, you will:

• Build and maintain user‑facing web interfaces.
• Contribute to frontend modernisation initiatives.
• Collaborate with backend engineers, designers, and product managers.
• Improve code quality, performance, and maintainability across the frontend stack.

You'll work within existing architectural direction, contributing ideas and improvements while learning from senior engineers.

Key Responsibilities

Frontend Development & Modernisation

• Develop and maintain frontend features across the marketplace platform.
• Contribute to the gradual migration from JSP‑based pages to modern frontend components.
• Build reusable UI components using modern frontend frameworks.
• Work with backend teams to consume APIs efficiently and reliably.
• Follow established frontend standards and best practices.

Software Quality & Delivery

• Write clean, maintainable, and well‑tested frontend code.
• Assist in identifying and reducing frontend technical debt.
• Ensure frontend code meets performance, accessibility, and security standards.
• Participate in code reviews and incorporate feedback constructively.
• Help ensure changes are safe and production‑ready.

Collaboration

• Work closely with designers and product managers to implement requirements accurately.
• Communicate implementation details, constraints, and risks clearly within the team.
• Collaborate effectively in a cross‑functional, full‑stack engineering environment.
• Learn from senior engineers through feedback, reviews, and pairing.

Continuous Improvement

• Stay up to date with modern frontend development practices.
• Suggest practical improvements to frontend tooling and workflows.
• Use AI‑assisted tools where appropriate to improve efficiency and code quality.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or National Diploma in Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience & Technical Skills

Required

• 5+ years of professional software development experience, with a strong frontend focus.
• Experience working with server‑rendered frontends (JSP or similar).
• Hands‑on experience with modern frontend frameworks such as React, Next.js, Vue, or similar.
• Solid understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript, and component‑based architecture.
• Working knowledge of integrating frontend applications with backend APIs.
• Familiarity with AWS‑based environments (e.g. EC2, S3, CloudWatch).
• Strong attention to performance, reliability, and user experience.

Advantageous

• Experience in ecommerce, marketplace platforms, or fintech.
• Exposure to production Java systems.
• Familiarity with modern Java (17+/21).
• Awareness of React Native + Expo or mobile frontend concepts.

Mindset & Approach

• Comfortable working within an existing codebase and improving it over time.
• Pragmatic and delivery‑focused, favouring steady progress over risky rewrites.
• Open to feedback and continuous learning.
• Collaborative, dependable, and detail‑oriented.