Senior Front-End Developer

About Us

Welcome to the home of the down-right inquisitive.

Reading Room is a user-led, data-centric consultancy. Fundamentally understanding users’ needs, motivation and behaviours in relation to our clients’ products and services is the key to success.

We help all kinds of passionate brands and organisations to realise their digital ambitions. And, as a 80-strong team of digital specialists across London, Bristol and the North West, we cover the whole caboodle – from the deep dive and digital strategy, right through to the design, technology and communications that define how customers feel and interact.

We are not afraid to challenge conventional thinking and we’re well known for our candid, jargon-free approach to delivery.

Our work adheres closely to the principles of user-centric design and delivers client work using agile processes, and in-depth discovery.

Reading Room’s existing client base is impressive, including well-known organisations spanning; central Government, blue light services, public and private healthcare, membership, not-for-profit, charity, and construction… to name a few. In recent times, we’ve seen an uplift in demand and requirement for our specialist services, with a number of new clients joining our growing portfolio.

We’re now proud to be part of the independently owned Rippleffect Group, alongside our sister companies: RONIN International, a research consultancy which is providing an even bigger toolbox for clients to collect data, understand their customer and scale up in other countries, and Fat Media, a traditional full-service agency based in the North West focused on aspiring SMEs.

The Opportunity

We’re seeking an experienced Senior Front End Developer who will complement and bolster our current team of talented developers. You will get to explore new technology and influence ways of working within our collaborative environment, and be a protagonist for best practice. You will learn from our existing team while also being able to contribute your own ideas to help us progress and innovate. We will support you in developing your skills and hope that you will help us develop ours; we are receptive to new solutions and love finding innovative ways of delivering modern software solutions.

We’re looking for someone who’s serious about front-end technologies and also has a keen eye for nice design and really cares about how the things they make end up looking on screen. You’ll have

experience building high-quality, responsive layouts and with silky smooth interactions, transitions and animations, collaborating closely with both the design and development team to come up with beautiful award-winning solutions to challenging yet exciting briefs.

About You

(You don’t need to tick all the boxes to be considered, so please do still apply if you have most of what we’re looking for)

This is a key hire for our business. In recent times, we’ve won a number of new client projects and are looking to grow the team with an individual who has a great deal of experience in Front End development, owns the solution and delivers an exceptional end product that we’re all proud to put our names to, and the client is equally delighted with. We want someone used to working with component-based design systems, who is proficient in modern JavaScript, and who is familiar with frameworks like Vue.js or React.

It goes without saying that you’ll need to be a strong communicator, both verbally and in writing, demonstrate excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, and have a team-orientated approach, with the ability to work independently.

The following additional skills and knowledge would be great, but are by no means essential, so please do still apply if you don’t have these:

• An understanding of component based or atomic design patterns
• Automated testing; Node.js; TypeScript
• Experience working with Storybook; Docker
• Experience implementing Core Web Vitals / Lighthouse recommendations

Location & Travel expectations

For the right candidate, we are willing to consider this position on a fully remote basis (UK-based only), or you could be based near to one of our offices (Bristol, London or Lancaster), and prefer to work out of the office regularly, or as a change now and then. Either way, we think it is important to get teams together in person from time to time, so you’ll need to be up for doing this.

How to apply…

Do you like the sound of all of this? If so, we’d love to hear from you! Please send us your CV and a short paragraph telling us about you, your accomplishments in Front End Development, and why you would like to work with us, and we’ll be in touch: techrecruitment@readingroom.com

The interview process will consist of around 3 stages: the first will be an introductory call for you and us to find out a bit more about each other and consider if it could be the right opportunity for you and your skills; the next stage would be a technical interview with the Hiring Manager; finally, you would meet with the MD and/or Technical Director, and maybe another colleague or team member, which will be a behavioural interview.

This is an urgent requirement so please do get in touch ASAP as we are looking to interview imminently!

Given the nature of the business and our clients’ requirements, any job offers issued will be conditional upon the return of a satisfactory basic DBS check and employment references.

Reading Room & Rippleffect Group is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce and everyone we work with, and eliminating unlawful discrimination. We base all our employment decisions on merit, job requirements and business needs. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative of all sections of society and our customers, and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best.