Frontend Engineer - Full job spec
Location: Remote-friendly (UK)
Reports to: Head of Frontend Engineering
ABOUT SYNAP
Synap is an award-winning assessment platform, trusted by leading universities and globally recognised organisations to deliver secure, scalable, and high-stakes online exams. We’re helping some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including Ivy League universities and household-name brands, deliver seamless digital assessment experiences for learners across the world. Our mission is simple: to make high-quality online exams effortless, reliable, and accessible.
ROLE OVERVIEW
We’re looking for a Frontend Engineer to take a senior role in building and evolving the web application that powers Synap’s assessment platform. You’ll work as part of our frontend engineering team, alongside backend engineers, our CTO and the product team to deliver features that are performant, elegant, and reliable; ensuring a best-in-class user experience for exam administrators and candidates alike. You’ll contribute to architectural decisions, mentor other engineers, and champion engineering best practices.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Design, develop, and maintain our core Ember.js + TypeScript web application.
- Contribute to architecture and long-term maintainability.
- Translate product and UX designs into high-quality, production-ready code.
- Design and build UIs from low-fidelity mockups.
- Design and build UIs for re-usable components.
- Collaborate closely with backend engineers to design and integrate with OpenAPI-based REST APIs.
- Drive performance optimisation, accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) and cross-browser reliability for a high-stakes product.
- Lead and participate in code reviews; define and evolve frontend architecture and patterns; mentor junior engineers.
- Ensure robust testing, CI/CD integration, and maintainability through strong coding standards and automated pipelines.
- Improve developer experience: tooling, local dev flows, CI speed, linting, and documentation.
- Participate in operational responsibilities for a high-reliability platform, including incident response and a supporting rota to triage bugs when required; ensure secure handling of candidate and customer data.
SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
Essential:
- 5+ years of professional frontend development experience.
- Strong proficiency in TypeScript and modern JavaScript (ES6+).
- Hands-on experience with opinionated frameworks.
- Excellent understanding of responsive design, utility classes, and component-based UI development.
- Proven experience integrating with REST APIs.
- Solid knowledge of frontend testing methodologies and tooling.
- Strong attention to performance, accessibility, and code quality.
- Experience working in a CI/CD environment with agile release cycles.
- Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and concisely.
- Proactive approach to solving complex problems.
Bonus:
- Experience with Ember.js.
- Experience building accessible applications (WCAG 2.1).
WHY SYNAP
- Be part of a talented engineering team building software used by top-tier universities and major global brands.
- Work on a product that genuinely impacts education and assessment at scale.
- Modern workflow: TypeScript, Ember.js, REST APIs, automated testing, CI/CD.
- Competitive compensation & benefits (pension, generous holiday + birthday off).
- Collaborative, supportive environment where your input matters and impact is visible.
INTERVIEW PROCESS
CV + short note → technical exercise → walk-through with engineers → brief founders chat → offer.
