Senior Frontend Engineer

About ANVIL

ANVIL is a trusted partner in the defence industry, delivering cutting-edge solutions that enhance military capabilities and operational effectiveness. We extend our expertise to public safety, law enforcement, and national security organizations, accelerating mission-critical decision-making through analytical tools, automations, and game-changing machine learning capabilities. ANVIL helps organizations discover, manage, enrich, fuse, and exploit the information available to them in support of Information Dominance and Decision Advantage.

Job Type: Full Time Remote (Hybrid option available for those in the Ottawa area - 55 Murray Street Office)

Total Compensation: CAD $125,000.00 - $165,000.00 base salary - Placement within range based on experience and qualifications

Vacancy Status: This posting is for an existing vacancy at ANVIL. We are actively hiring for this role

Role (Description)

As a Senior Frontend Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in designing, developing, and maintaining sophisticated user interfaces that power our analytical tools and data visualization platforms. You will architect scalable frontend applications, optimize performance for large datasets, and ensure our user interfaces deliver exceptional experiences for mission-critical workflows.

Furthermore, you will use your knowledge of industry best practices to provide strategic guidance to engineering leadership on how to most effectively design frontend architectures that scale with our growing customer base and evolving product requirements.

We value people who have an ingrained sense of accountability to the team around them. As an ideal candidate you are not only technically qualified, but you demonstrate a strong work ethic and take pride in your craft. You also collaborate and communicate effectively with the other talented and motivated members of our organization.

Experience

• 7+ years of professional experience building production React applications, including technical leadership on at least one of them
• Experience architecting and scaling frontend applications, including the foundational decisions about module boundaries, state management, rendering strategy, and data flow
• Experience establishing frontend engineering standards on a team, such as coding patterns, component library design, review practices, or testing strategies
• Experience mentoring other engineers through pairing, design review, and code review
• Experience with modern CSS (CSS Modules, Tailwind, or equivalent), including responsive and accessible design
• Experience integrating with REST APIs, including complex asynchronous flows and error handling
• Strong working experience with unit and integration testing
• Strong working experience with Playwright for testing full user workflows, including strategies to keep test suites reliable at scale

Skills & Competencies

• Expert proficiency in React, including hooks, concurrent features, rendering behaviour, and framework internals, with the depth to reason about performance and correctness
• Expert proficiency in modern JavaScript and TypeScript, including ES6+ language features
• Strong understanding of frontend architecture, modular design, and building applications from composable components at scale
• Expert knowledge of HTML5, CSS3, and modern styling methodologies (Flexbox, Grid, responsive and adaptive design)
• Strong understanding of web performance optimization, rendering pipelines, and profiling tools (Lighthouse, React Profiler, Chrome DevTools)
• Working knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1) and a track record of shipping accessible interfaces
• Experience configuring and optimizing modern build tools (e.g., Vite, Webpack) and maintaining scalable project structures
• Experience with state management libraries (Redux, Zustand, or similar) and the judgment to know when not to use one
• Solid grasp of frontend security practices (XSS, CSRF, CORS, and content security policies)
• Proficiency with Git workflows, CI/CD integration, and collaborative development practices
• Strong written and spoken communication, with the ability to explain technical decisions and tradeoffs to engineering, product, and executive audiences
• Demonstrated technical leadership through setting direction, mentoring peers, and building consensus by expertise rather than authority

Preferred Qualifications & Competencies

• Experience building applications that handle large datasets, streaming data, or live analytics
• Experience building live communication features using WebSockets or other streaming protocols
• Experience with WebGL, Canvas, or advanced graphics rendering techniques for interactive visualization
• Experience with knowledge management systems, case management systems, or relevant defence industry applications
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and frontend observability tools (GitLab, Sentry, Datadog, OpenTelemetry)
• Familiarity with containerized development environments (Docker) and modern deployment workflows
• Familiarity with Agile or Scrum methodologies and working in sprints
• Experience working in or closely with defence, public safety, or national security organizations

Key Responsibilities

Frontend Architecture & Technical Strategy

• Architect the frontend for complex, demanding workflows, including those that handle large datasets or live data updates
• Set the technical direction for the frontend platform, including framework and library choices, module boundaries, state management patterns, and rendering strategy
• Evaluate new frontend technologies and advise engineering leadership on adoption tradeoffs across cost, risk, and maintainability over time
• Own performance budgets and rendering strategies, including the UI patterns needed for large datasets and live updates
• Partner with backend architects to shape API contracts that serve frontend needs and user workflows

Engineering Standards & Quality

• Establish and uphold frontend coding standards, patterns, and review practices across the engineering team
• Define the testing strategy across unit, integration, and full workflow layers using React Testing Library and Playwright, and keep coverage of critical user flows strong
• Treat accessibility (WCAG 2.1), performance, and security as product requirements rather than finishing touches
• Lead by example in code review, improving quality and consistency

Mentorship & Technical Leadership

• Mentor intermediate and junior engineers through pairing, design reviews, and feedback on their growth
• Lead technical design discussions and architectural reviews for significant frontend work
• Help other engineers grow into the standards you establish

Communication & Advocacy

• Represent frontend in product, design, and engineering leadership forums, including in roadmap planning conversations
• Translate technical tradeoffs into language that product owners and engineering leadership can act on
• Speak up for user experience, performance, and accessibility when scope, timeline, or architectural pressure push against them
• Contribute to sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives with realistic scoping and honest assessments of risk and dependencies
• Communicate development progress, blockers, and strategic frontend direction clearly and proactively

Why Join Us?

Our Mission

This is more than just a job; you'll be part of a team of dedicated professionals who share a common goal: to increase the safety and security of Western democracies through the effective use of data. Our workplace is not just a job; it's a community of like-minded people working together to make a positive impact on the world we live in.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salaries
• Flexible health benefits package through Equitable
• Industry-leading employer retirement contributions match

Work Environment

• Hybrid work model combining remote flexibility with meaningful in-person collaboration
• Modern office in the historic Carriageway building in beautiful downtown Ottawa
• Access to downtown amenities, transit, and Ottawa's vibrant cultural scene

What You'll Experience

• Work alongside dedicated professionals who value excellence and collaboration
• Contribute to building the team behind technologies with real-world security impact
• Ground-floor opportunity to shape people operations as ANVIL scales
• Join a culture where your expertise and ideas matter

Application Process

To apply for this role, please submit your CV and cover letter. The application process will likely include:

• A preliminary call with our team, which will be a chance for you to find out more about ANVIL and the role.
• An initial interview to discuss your experience and suitability for the role.
• A practical exercise to assess your approach to common scenarios in the role.

ANVIL welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates participating in all aspects of the selection process.

Use of AI in Recruitment: ANVIL does not use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants for this position. All applications are reviewed by members of our recruitment team.