Senior Frontend Engineer (React / NextJS)

DVT is a software development consultancy with over 25 years of delivery experience, working with leading organisations across financial services, telecoms, and retail — both in South Africa and globally. Our developers are embedded in complex, high-stakes projects where the quality of the work genuinely matters. You will work alongside experienced practitioners, on real problems, with technologies that are current.

Learning is a serious part of how we operate. DVT runs internal technical sessions, supports developers who want to speak at and attend industry events, and maintains a culture where sharing knowledge is expected — not just encouraged. If you want to grow, the environment is set up for it.

We are looking for a Senior Front-End Developer with a React focus to join our front-end development team. You will have 5–8+ years of hands-on experience delivering production web applications, with strong TypeScript skills and a track record of writing clean, well-tested code.
In this role you will take end-to-end ownership of frontend features — from translating UI/UX designs into accessible, performant interfaces through to testing, code review, and post-deployment monitoring. You will work closely with backend developers, designers, and product stakeholders, and be expected to contribute to technical decisions and actively support the growth of developers around you.

We are looking for someone with genuine depth in React — hooks, state management, component architecture, and performance optimisation — who understands the browser, takes accessibility seriously, and approaches their work with the same care whether or not anyone is watching.

• HTML5 semantics, accessibility (WCAG 2.1 / ARIA), and SEO fundamentals

• CSS3, SASS/LESS, CSS Modules, and CSS-in-JS patterns

• JavaScript (ES2022+) and TypeScript — strong typing, generics, and utility types

• DOM manipulation, event handling, and browser rendering pipelines

• Responsive design, cross-browser compatibility, and progressive enhancement

Candidates should demonstrate depth in at least one framework and awareness of the broader ecosystem.

• React — hooks, context, Suspense, concurrent rendering, and performance patterns

• NextJS – production experience with App Router, Server and Client Components, SSR/SSG/ISR rendering strategies, data fetching and caching patterns, Route Handlers, Middleware, Server Actions, and performance optimisation using next/image, next/font, and bundle analysis.

• Working experience with Angular, Vue, NestJS, or other JS frameworks.

• State management — Redux Toolkit, Zustand, Jotai, or React Query; ability to choose the right tool per problem

• Routing and Single Page Application (SPA) patterns; awareness of SSR/SSG approaches (Next.js)

• Component library / design system literacy — building and consuming component systems (Storybook, Figma tokens)

Frontend engineers at this level own the integration layer with confidence.

• Consuming RESTful and GraphQL APIs; understanding of HTTP semantics, status codes, and error handling

• API contract awareness — OpenAPI/Swagger, API mocking with MSW, and contract testing basics

• Node.js — sufficient proficiency to build and maintain BFF (Backend for Frontend) layers

• Authentication and authorisation patterns — OAuth2/OIDC, JWT handling, secure token storage, XSS/CSRF mitigations

• WebSockets / real-time communication (Socket.io, SignalR)

• Exposure to alternative backend technologies like .NET, Java SpringBoot, FastAPI or Golang. (Beneficial)

Senior engineers own the performance health of what they ship.

• Performance profiling — Chrome DevTools, Google Lighthouse, Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, FID/INP)

• Performance budgets and asset optimisation strategies

• Frontend error tracking and monitoring — Sentry, Datadog RUM, or equivalent

• Analytics integration — Google Analytics 4, Segment, or custom event tracking

Security awareness is a non-negotiable baseline in regulated industries.

• OWASP Top 10 — practical understanding of XSS, CSRF, injection, and insecure direct object references

• Content Security Policy (CSP) and secure HTTP headers

• Input validation and sanitisation practices

• Dependency vulnerability scanning (npm audit, Dependabot)

• Git version control — advanced topics including cherry-picking, rebasing, bisecting, and branch strategy

• CI/CD pipeline literacy — able to maintain and contribute to pipelines (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins)

• Containerisation basics — Docker (writing Dockerfiles, understanding compose for local dev environments)

• Cloud exposure — AWS (S3, CloudFront) or Azure (Static Web Apps, Blob Storage) for frontend deployments

• Package management and monorepo tooling (npm workspaces, pnpm, Nx, Turborepo)

• AI Tooling: Effective use of AI-assisted development tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor); ability to critically evaluate and validate AI-generated code.

• Edge & Hybrid Rendering: Awareness of edge computing patterns and hybrid rendering strategies.

• PWA / TWA: Progressive Web App and Trusted Web Activity patterns.

• Service Workers: Offline-first strategies, background sync, and push notifications.

• Cross Stack Development: Working with backend technologies in .NET, Java SpringBoot, FastAPI (Python) or Node server side (Lambdas).

At Senior level, architecture involvement is advisory and collaborative — not solely owned.

• Understanding of Solution Architecture and how frontend decisions affect the broader system

• Ability to apply SOLID principles and appropriate design patterns within feature work

• Can define component-level and feature-level coding standards

• Participates in pull request reviews — enforces standards, provides constructive feedback

• Contributes to Estimation and Backlog Refinement; can break down features into well-structured tasks

• Balances business requirements against engineering best practices; flags technical debt constructively

• Understands and follows Agile/SCRUM ceremonies and artefacts

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  Develop production-ready web applications, functional prototypes, and interactive demos across web and mobile platforms

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  Consume and integrate REST and GraphQL APIs built by backend engineers

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  Validate the technical feasibility of UI/UX designs before implementation commences

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  Build responsive, accessible applications supporting multiple browsers and platforms

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  Perform development testing, debugging, and enhancements on new and existing codebases

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  Optimise application performance and scalability; monitor Core Web Vitals post-deployment

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  Promote reusable code, component libraries, and shared design system patterns

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  Provide website maintenance and enhancements; assist backend engineers with troubleshooting

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  Maintain digital standards and branding consistency throughout the product interface

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  Follow secure input validation practices and OWASP guidelines

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  Stay current with emerging frontend technologies and evaluate their applicability

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  Collaborate with team members and stakeholders across the delivery lifecycle

• 5–8+ years of professional frontend software development

• Practical experience in Agile (SCRUM) delivery

• Tertiary qualification in Computer Science or related field is beneficial but not required

• Experience in banking, insurance, or telecoms is highly beneficial

What working at DVT is like from the Practice head: 

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