Torchora
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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for UI Engineer

💰 $90,000 - $150,000

EngineeringFront-EndProductDesign

🎯 Role Definition

As a UI Engineer you will own the implementation and evolution of the user-facing layer of our web and hybrid applications. You will translate high-fidelity designs into accessible, resilient, and performance-optimized UI components and pages, lead front-end architecture decisions, and collaborate across product, design, backend engineering, QA, and data teams to deliver features that delight users. This role emphasizes component-driven development, design system ownership, measurable performance and accessibility outcomes, and continuous delivery through modern CI/CD and testing practices.

Key goals:

  • Deliver pixel-accurate, accessible interfaces using modern front-end frameworks and TypeScript.
  • Build and maintain a scalable design system and component library.
  • Optimize UI performance, reliability, and cross-browser compatibility.
  • Mentor junior engineers and improve front-end engineering practices across the organization.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Front-End Developer (React/Angular/Vue)
  • UI Developer or Web Developer
  • UX Engineer or Product-Focused Software Engineer

Advancement To:

  • Senior UI Engineer / Staff Front-End Engineer
  • Front-End Architect / UI Technical Lead
  • Engineering Manager (Front-End) or Principal Engineer

Lateral Moves:

  • UX Engineer / Design Technologist
  • Full-Stack Engineer (product-focused)
  • Developer Experience or Platform Engineer (design systems)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead the design, development, and maintenance of reusable, accessible UI components and a composable design system using modern front-end frameworks (React, Vue, or Angular) and TypeScript, ensuring components are documented, themable, and versioned for cross-team reuse.
  • Translate high-fidelity Figma/Sketch/Adobe XD designs into production-ready HTML, CSS (or CSS-in-JS), and TypeScript components that match design intent with pixel precision while preserving responsiveness and scalability.
  • Implement and enforce front-end architecture patterns (component-driven development, atomic design, container/presentational separation) that reduce duplication and accelerate feature delivery across multiple product teams.
  • Collaborate with product managers and UX designers to refine requirements, estimate effort, and deliver user-focused UI experiences that meet business KPIs and user metrics.
  • Design and execute front-end unit, integration, and end-to-end test strategies using tools such as Jest, React Testing Library, Cypress, or Playwright to ensure UI reliability and prevent regressions.
  • Improve web and mobile web performance by profiling, identifying bottlenecks (bundle size, render cycles, paint/layout thrashing), and applying optimizations such as code-splitting, lazy loading, memoization, virtualization, and image optimization techniques.
  • Ensure product accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA or higher) by implementing semantic HTML, ARIA attributes, keyboard navigation, focus management, color contrast, and accessibility testing workflows (axe, Lighthouse, assistive tech validation).
  • Integrate UI with backend services and REST/GraphQL APIs, handling optimistic updates, caching strategies, pagination, and error states in a resilient and secure manner.
  • Own CI/CD pipelines and front-end release processes, automating linting, type-checking, building, and deployment steps to staging and production environments.
  • Create and maintain technical documentation, component usage guidelines, code examples, and storybook-based interactive catalogs for internal teams and external partners.
  • Mentor and coach junior and mid-level engineers on front-end best practices, TypeScript type design, CSS architecture, and debugging strategies to raise the overall front-end craft of the organization.
  • Drive cross-team initiatives to standardize tooling (ESLint, Prettier, TypeScript config), build systems (Webpack, Vite, Snowpack), and performance budgets to align multiple product squads.
  • Implement robust error monitoring and observability for the UI layer (Sentry, LogRocket, Datadog RUM), set SLAs for UI errors, and collaborate on remediation plans.
  • Prototype and experiment with new UI technologies, patterns, and libraries to evaluate trade-offs and propose sound technical recommendations for adoption.
  • Coordinate with backend engineers on API design and contract changes, participate in API versioning and schema evolution discussions to minimize front-end churn.
  • Enforce secure front-end coding practices including input validation, XSS prevention, content security policy considerations, and safe handling of third-party scripts and dependencies.
  • Conduct cross-browser and cross-device testing (desktop, tablet, mobile, iOS/Android WebViews), fix compatibility issues, and document browser support policies.
  • Lead accessibility audits and remediation sprints, partnering with UX researchers and QA to incorporate accessibility acceptance criteria into stories and release definitions.
  • Support localization and internationalization (i18n) needs in the UI layer, implementing pluralization, right-to-left styling, and locale-specific formatting.
  • Participate actively in Agile ceremonies: sprint planning, backlog grooming, demos, and retrospectives; provide accurate estimates and help unblock teammates.
  • Partner with Product Design to iterate on UX patterns, providing feasibility feedback and alternate technical approaches that balance user needs and engineering constraints.
  • Monitor component usage and technical debt associated with the front-end codebase, schedule refactors, and prioritize rework to maintain developer velocity.
  • Collaborate with DevOps and Platform teams to optimize hosting, caching, and CDN strategies for static assets and client-side resources.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc UI investigations, prototype features for user testing, and provide technical input into product discovery phases.
  • Contribute to the design system roadmap and help prioritize component library enhancements and accessibility improvements.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional analytics and data teams to implement UI telemetry and event tracking that informs product decisions.
  • Assist in onboarding new engineers to front-end tooling, architectural patterns, and component development workflows.
  • Participate in technical hiring interviews, evaluate candidate front-end competencies, and provide structured interview feedback.
  • Provide on-call support for critical UI production incidents and execute post-mortems with clear remediation items.
  • Offer subject-matter expertise on front-end trends and recommend training or upskilling programs for the engineering organization.
  • Engage with external partners or customers for UI integration guidance, SDK usage, or widget embedding patterns.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Strong proficiency with modern JavaScript (ES6+) and TypeScript, including advanced type patterns, generics, and type-safe API consumption.
  • Expert-level experience building component-driven UIs with React (hooks, context, Suspense), or equivalent frameworks (Vue 3 composition API, Angular Ivy).
  • Deep knowledge of HTML5, semantic markup, and CSS3, including Flexbox, Grid, and responsive design patterns.
  • Experience with CSS-in-JS solutions (styled-components, Emotion), CSS modules, or advanced preprocessor workflows (Sass/SCSS, PostCSS).
  • Familiarity with design systems and component libraries (Storybook, Bit, Material, Chakra, or custom design systems) and experience maintaining them at scale.
  • Proficient with front-end build tools and bundlers (Webpack, Vite, Rollup) and optimization techniques for bundle size and load performance.
  • Solid understanding of web performance metrics (LCP, FID, CLS) and optimization strategies such as code-splitting, tree-shaking, and lazy loading.
  • Accessibility expertise (WCAG guidelines, ARIA patterns), assistive technology testing, and accessibility tooling (axe, Lighthouse).
  • Experience integrating with RESTful APIs and GraphQL endpoints, including handling authentication flows (OAuth, JWT) and caching strategies.
  • Automated testing skills: unit tests (Jest), component tests (React Testing Library), and end-to-end testing (Cypress, Playwright).
  • Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines for front-end deployments (GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Jenkins) and static site hosting/CDNs (Netlify, Vercel, Fastly, Cloudflare).
  • Knowledge of cross-browser compatibility issues and polyfill strategies; understanding of mobile WebView constraints for hybrid apps.
  • Experience with observability and error tracking tools for the client (Sentry, Datadog RUM, LogRocket).
  • Internationalization (i18n) and localization workflows, including pluralization rules, date/number formatting, and RTL support.
  • Basic familiarity with back-end concepts (HTTP, caching, websockets) and security best practices relevant to client apps.

Soft Skills

  • Strong collaboration across product, design, QA, and backend teams; able to communicate technical trade-offs in business terms.
  • User-obsessed mindset with a focus on delivering delightful, accessible experiences for diverse audiences.
  • Excellent problem-solving skills: able to diagnose UI bugs, root-cause performance issues, and produce pragmatic fixes.
  • Clear written and verbal communication; creates actionable documentation and component usage guidelines.
  • Mentorship and leadership: coaches peers, gives constructive code reviews, and helps raise team standards.
  • Time management and prioritization: balances feature delivery with technical debt and maintenance.
  • Adaptability and continuous learning: stays current with front-end ecosystem and advocates for pragmatic improvements.
  • Attention to detail with a bias toward shipping high-quality, well-tested code.
  • Empathy and stakeholder management: negotiates scope and aligns on realistic delivery timelines.
  • Analytical mindset: uses data and UI telemetry to make informed UX and performance decisions.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or equivalent practical experience (bootcamp + portfolio).

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Computer Science, HCI, or design-related technical field, or demonstrable professional experience in large-scale front-end engineering roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Software Engineering
  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
  • Visual/Interaction Design
  • Web Development or related technical programs

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of professional front-end or UI engineering experience, with demonstrable ownership of UI features and component libraries.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years building production front-end applications with modern JavaScript frameworks and TypeScript.
  • Proven experience owning or contributing significantly to a design system or shared component library.
  • Demonstrated track record of shipping high-impact features, improving UI performance, and driving accessibility improvements across products.
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