Frontend Developer
Northwind Labs · Manchester, United Kingdom
- Salary
- £48K – £62K/yr
- Job type
- Full-time
- Level
- Mid level
- Location type
- Hybrid
What this role actually involves
CareerHub analysis
This is a product engineering role rather than a pure UI one: Northwind is a small team relative to its customer base, so the frontend developer here will be expected to talk to retail customers directly and make interface decisions without a product manager translating. The data-density of the screens is the technical crux — candidates who can talk credibly about rendering large tables, virtualisation and perceived performance will interview well. The hybrid pattern is genuinely two days on site in Manchester, so this is not a remote role in disguise.
About the job
Join the product engineering team building the reporting interfaces our retail customers use every morning to plan their day. You will work on data-dense screens where performance and clarity matter more than visual novelty.
Responsibilities
- Build and maintain data-heavy reporting screens in React and TypeScript
- Work directly with two designers on component design and interaction patterns
- Improve page performance against agreed Core Web Vitals targets
- Contribute to the shared component library used across three products
- Join customer calls once a fortnight to see the software used in context
Requirements
- Three or more years building production React applications
- Strong TypeScript, including modelling API responses you do not control
- Confident with CSS layout and able to debug someone else's stylesheet
- Practical understanding of web accessibility, including keyboard and screen reader behaviour
- Experience writing tests that describe user behaviour
Benefits
- 28 days leave plus public holidays
- Two office days a week, three from home
- £1,200 learning budget
- 6% employer pension contribution
Minimum education: Bachelor's degree
The skills that will be tested, explained
Written by our editorial team, not taken from the listing.
React
On the job: Building user interfaces out of components, managing state without turning the app into a web of side effects, and knowing when a re-render is costing your users time.
How it is assessed: Expect a live or take-home exercise: fetch data, render a list, handle loading and error states. Interviewers watch for how you split components and where you put state.
On your CV: Name the app, the scale, and the outcome: "Rebuilt a 40-screen dashboard in React, cutting first paint from 4.1s to 1.3s."
TypeScript
On the job: Describing the shape of your data so mistakes surface while you type rather than in production. In practice it is mostly about modelling domain types well.
How it is assessed: Code review conversations: why a union instead of an optional field, how you would type an API response you do not control.
On your CV: Mention migration work — "Converted a 60k line JavaScript codebase to strict TypeScript" — because that is measurable.
Next.js
On the job: Rendering the right thing in the right place: server components for data, client components for interaction, caching so pages are fast and cheap to serve.
How it is assessed: Architecture questions about rendering strategies and caching, plus a practical build task.
On your CV: Talk about Core Web Vitals and traffic. Numbers beat adjectives on a CV every time.
Also listed: CSS, Accessibility, Testing.
Salary insight
This role advertises £48K – £62K/yr. For a mid level position in Manchester, United Kingdom, treat the top of the band as achievable only if you match nearly every requirement listed. If you are asked for expectations first, give a range whose bottom you would genuinely accept, and confirm what sits alongside base pay — bonus, pension, leave, and any allowance for commuting.
Where this role leads
- 1Senior Frontend Developer — depth in one area plus reliable delivery
- 2Lead Frontend Developer or Frontend Developer Manager — the branch point between people and craft
- 3Head of Software function — three to six years out
How to apply for this role well
Tailoring your CV
- Put React, TypeScript, Next.js in the top third of page one. Most screens for a Frontend Developer take under a minute, and recruiters read top-down.
- Mirror the language of the listing where it is honest to do so. If the advert says "React", write "React" — not a synonym an applicant tracking system will miss.
- Lead each bullet with a verb and close it with a number. "Managed reporting" is invisible; "Rebuilt weekly reporting for 12 branches, cutting prep time from 6 hours to 40 minutes" is not.
- The listing puts "Build and maintain data-heavy reporting screens in React and TypeScript" first, which usually signals the day-one priority. Make sure one bullet on your CV maps directly to it.
- Keep it to two pages and export as PDF so your layout survives.
Your cover letter
- Open with the specific role and where you saw it: "I am applying for the Frontend Developer role at Northwind Labs." No suspense, no throat-clearing.
- Paragraph two is the one that matters. Take a single requirement from the listing and give a concrete example of doing it, with the outcome.
- Show that you know something about Northwind Labs beyond its homepage — a product decision, a market they operate in, a recent change in software.
- Close with availability and a clear next step. Three to four short paragraphs, under 300 words, in the body of the email if you are applying by email.
- Never send the same letter twice. Reviewers can tell, and a generic letter is worse than none.
Before you hit send
- A CV tailored to this listing, saved as PDF with your name in the filename.
- A short cover note that names the role and one relevant result.
- Proof of the stated qualification, ready to send if requested.
- Two referees who have agreed in advance to be contacted.
- Ten minutes to complete the application form on this page.
Interview preparation
- Prepare a two-minute answer to "why this role at Northwind Labs?" that references the company's work in software.
- Have three STAR stories ready — situation, task, action, result — that cover React and TypeScript.
- On React: Expect a live or take-home exercise: fetch data, render a list, handle loading and error states. Interviewers watch for how you split components and where you put state.
- Expect at least one question about working hybrid, especially how you keep work visible to people who cannot see your screen.
- Prepare two questions of your own. Good ones: what does success look like in the first 90 days, and what does the team find hardest right now?
Industry context
Northwind Labs works in Software. As a 120 employees organisation, that affects how the Frontend Developer role is scoped: smaller teams tend to want breadth and a bias to action, larger ones want depth and evidence that you can work across functions. Candidates who research the sector — its customers, its regulation, its current pressures — interview noticeably better than those who research only the company.
Northwind Labs builds reporting and forecasting software used by regional retail chains to plan stock and staffing. The engineering team is small relative to the customer base, which means engineers here talk to customers directly and own features from design through to support. Hiring is deliberately slow and the interview process is unusually transparent about scope and pay.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Frontend Developer role at Northwind Labs remote?
Partly. It is a hybrid role based in Manchester, United Kingdom, so expect a mix of office and home days. Ask how many days on site are expected each week.
What salary does this role pay?
The advertised range is £48K – £62K/yr. Total package may also include bonus, pension and leave, so ask for the full breakdown at screening stage.
How do I apply?
Use the application form on this page. You will need your CV and about ten minutes.
How long does a response usually take?
Two to three weeks is typical. If you have heard nothing after ten working days, a short, polite follow-up to the recruiter is appropriate and will not count against you.
What experience level is required?
Mid level. If you meet roughly 70% of the requirements it is still worth applying — very few candidates match every line of a job advert.
Apply for this job
Your CV and details go to Northwind Labs. It takes a couple of minutes.
Know someone right for this role?
Share the listing — they land on this page with the full description and can apply from here.
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Related reading
Listing last updated August 15, 2026. The analysis, skills breakdown, salary insight and interview guidance on this page were written by the CareerHub editorial team and are independent of the employer. Always verify pay and conditions with the employer before accepting an offer.