UI & Frontend Engineering

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are looking for an Engineering Manager with deep frontend expertise to lead NorthLadder's product engineering team. This is a senior leadership role with two interlocking dimensions: you will own the UI strategy and visual standards of our product, and manage a team that is primarily frontend engineers, with backend engineers and QA also reporting into you.

The weight of this role sits firmly in the frontend and UI space — your technical home ground. You will set the bar for how NorthLadder's interfaces are built, reviewed, and shipped, while providing management oversight to backend and QA functions. You will report to the VP of Engineering and operate as a key voice in engineering leadership.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Frontend Engineering Leadership (Primary Focus)

• Lead and manage a frontend-heavy engineering team: the majority of your direct reports are frontend engineers building React/Next.js-based web and mobile interfaces.
• Set and enforce frontend engineering standards — component architecture, code review practices, performance benchmarks, accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA), and browser/device compatibility.
• Own the UI component library and front-end design system; ensure components are reusable, well-documented, and consistently adopted across squads.
• Drive frontend delivery: sprint planning, estimation, code reviews, release coordination, and post-release monitoring for frontend surfaces.
• Evaluate and make decisions on frontend tooling, frameworks, and libraries — staying current with the React/Next.js ecosystem.
• Ensure frontend builds are fast, reliable, and well-integrated into CI/CD pipelines; own frontend performance and quality metrics.
• Actively participate in architecture discussions and technical design reviews for features with significant frontend surface area.

UI Strategy & Visual Direction

• Define NorthLadder's UI strategy: visual language, interaction patterns, spacing/typography/colour systems, and component standards across all product surfaces (web, mobile, internal tools).
• Work closely with Product and Design to translate requirements into clear, high-quality UI specifications — and ensure implementation matches design intent precisely.
• Establish a visual quality gate process: review and sign off on UI implementations before they reach production.
• Ensure NorthLadder's interfaces are consistently on-brand, visually polished, and deliver a premium experience for both consumers and enterprise clients.
• Collaborate with the Design team on Figma component standards, design tokens, and handoff workflows to keep design and code in sync.

Engineering Management — Full Team

• Manage the full product engineering team: frontend engineers (primary), backend engineers, and QA engineers — typically 8–12 ICs in total.
• Run regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and career development conversations; be a strong people manager and technical coach.
• Own hiring across the team, with the heaviest focus on frontend and UI talent in India.
• Provide management oversight and direction to backend tech leads — you don't need to be the deepest backend expert, but you can review progress, unblock dependencies, and hold teams accountable.
• Oversee QA processes: champion quality standards, ensure test coverage (unit, integration, E2E), and drive automation of regression suites.
• Foster a high-trust, high-accountability team culture with a strong bias for shipping and continuous improvement.
• Contribute to engineering-wide planning — OKRs, roadmaps, headcount proposals — as a key member of the engineering leadership group.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Partner with Product Managers to scope features, align on timelines, and ensure frontend execution matches product intent.
• Collaborate with the VP of Engineering and business stakeholders on quarterly roadmap planning and trade-off decisions.
• Coordinate with Marketing and Brand on UI assets, landing pages, and visual consistency across customer-facing surfaces.
• Manage external contractors or agencies for frontend/design surge capacity when needed.

WHAT YOU BRING

Experience

• 10–15 years in software engineering, with the majority of that time in frontend development; at least 3–4 years in an engineering management or team lead role.
• Proven track record managing frontend-heavy engineering teams (5+ engineers) in a fast-paced product environment.
• Experience owning a UI strategy or design system for a consumer-facing digital product — marketplace, fintech, e-commerce, or platform preferred.
• Background in high-growth startups