Lead Frontend Engineer

About This Role

We’re hiring a Lead Frontend Engineer to take ownership of our Player—the system that renders video experiences in the browser—and help shape how it evolves.

You’ll lead a small team of engineers and report directly to our CTO while remaining deeply hands-on—designing architecture, building core components, and raising the bar for how the team operates.

Your role will take on deep ownership of one of the most critical parts of our platform: our client-side rendering engine that orchestrates SVG, animation, audio, and video into seamless playback.

This is not a coordination role. You’ll be in the code every day, making real tradeoffs, and shipping systems that directly impact the product.

What You’ll Do

Engineering

Architect and build core systems within the Player, and contribute to broader frontend architecture as needed
Define frontend architecture (frameworks, state management, rendering strategies, build tooling)
Push performance in the Player—frame accuracy, animation smoothness, and cross-browser reliability matter
Build scalable, configuration-driven component systems across many scene types and data visualizations
Design testing strategies that reflect real-world failure modes
Write code that is durable, understandable, and extensible
Maintain documentation about Player capabilities for internal teams

Leadership

Lead and mentor a team of frontend engineers with clear expectations and direct feedback
Establish and evolve frontend standards—style guides, testing practices, and review processes
Set the pace for development and define what “high-quality, fast execution” looks like
Run code reviews that teach, not gatekeep
Collaborate closely with Product, Design, Backend, QA, and leadership on tradeoffs and delivery
Make pragmatic build-vs-buy decisions
AI-Assisted Development
Use AI tools (Claude, Copilot, etc.) as part of real development workflows
Help define how the team uses these tools effectively and where they provide real leverage
What Success Looks Like (First 6 Months)
You’ve shipped meaningful improvements to the Player’s performance and capabilities
The frontend architecture is clearer, more scalable, and easier to build on
The team is moving faster with stronger patterns and standards
You’ve identified and begun executing on key architectural upgrades
Engineers on the team are improving through your guidance and reviews

What We’re Looking For

Core Experience

Strong frontend engineering background (typically 5+ years; we care more about depth than tenure)
Deep expertise in JavaScript/TypeScript and modern frameworks (React, Vue, or equivalent)
Experience leading or mentoring engineers and setting technical direction

Technical Depth

Strong understanding of browser rendering, performance, and animation systems
Experience working with SVG, complex UI systems, or highly interactive applications
Experience building scalable, configuration-driven component architectures
Ability to own architecture decisions end-to-end and articulate tradeoffs clearly

Strong Signals (Not Required)

Data visualization experience (D3 or similar)
Experience with audio/video orchestration in the browser (Web Audio API, MediaSource, etc.)
Background in motion graphics, creative coding, or visually rich frontend systems
Familiarity with headless browser environments or programmatic video generation
Experience in startup environments or fast-moving teams
Comfort working across the stack (Node.js or Python familiarity)

Who You Are

You set a high bar and hold yourself to it first
You communicate clearly and directly
You’re energized by ambiguity and early-stage problem spaces
You care about craft, but prioritize impact
You’re not precious about your code—you’d rather ship the right thing than defend your own work
You believe strong teams are built through clear expectations, honest feedback, and investment in others