Frontend Engineering Lead

Slick Ltd.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - GBP 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A tech startup focused on digital services for salons is seeking a Frontend Engineering Lead to own the frontend of web and mobile applications. The role requires proven leadership in maintaining large-scale systems, strong expertise in frontend architecture, and a commitment to performance improvement. This position allows for significant autonomy, flexibility in work location, and fosters a culture valuing innovation and collaboration. Competitive benefits include generous leave policies and a pet-friendly workplace.

Benefits

25 days + bank holidays annual leave

Company pension

Bring your dog to work

Flexible working policy

Qualifications

• Proven leadership in evolving and maintaining large-scale or legacy frontend systems.
• Strong expertise in frontend architecture and state management.
• Demonstrated success improving frontend performance and reliability.

Responsibilities

• Own frontend architecture and technical direction across web and mobile platforms.
• Lead modernization and refactoring of large, legacy codebases.
• Drive performance, scalability, and user experience improvements.

Skills

Frontend architecture

State management

API integration

Performance improvement

Frontend testing strategies

Job description

At Slick, we’re transforming how salons and barbers run their businesses. Our smart booking platform and digital partner help industry professionals manage bookings, clients, and payments seamlessly.

While 65% of salons still rely on pen and paper, we’re bringing the beauty industry online - the way taxis, hotels, and restaurants already are. Since launching in 2019, over 8,000 UK professionals have used Slick to take millions of bookings, backed by partnerships with L’Oréal, Meta, and Stripe.

Role Summary

We are looking for a hands-on Frontend Engineering Lead to own the frontend of our web and mobile applications. This role is 70% hands-on, focused on building new features, improving existing ones, modernizing the codebase, improving performance, and mentoring frontend engineers while setting strong technical standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Own frontend architecture, technical direction, and code quality across web and mobile platforms
• Lead frontend modernization and refactoring of large, legacy codebases
• Drive performance, scalability, and user experience improvements
• Partner with product and backend teams to design and deliver complex features
• Establish and enforce frontend standards, best practices, and testing strategy
• Implement and oversee authentication and authorization flows using AWS Cognito
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, design guidance, and hands-on collaboration

Required Skills & Experience

• Proven leadership in evolving and maintaining large-scale or legacy frontend systems
• Strong expertise in frontend architecture, state management, and API integration
• Demonstrated success improving frontend performance and reliability
• Experience designing and maintaining frontend testing strategies (unit and E2E)
• Ability to lead by example while remaining deeply hands-on

Nice to haves

• Experience with Stripe or other payment-related frontend integrations
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines (CircleCI or similar)
• Experience improving frontend engineering processes and developer experience

Why Join Us

You’ll take ownership of frontend architecture and execution, build and modernize core experiences hands-on, and mentor engineers in a culture that values quality, transparency, and thoughtful growth.

Come Build With Us (Without the Corporate Bloat)

We’re growing fast - but we’ve deliberately kept the startup energy that made us exciting in the first place.

At Slick, you’ll find a team that’s:

• Scrappy by design: We move fast, iterate quickly, and give you real ownership. You won’t be boxed into process for process’ sake.
• Built for senior talent: No pointless 1:1s or micromanagement. We hire people we trust to take initiative, make decisions, and ship.
• Autonomy-first: You’ll have the space to propose ideas, solve meaningful problems, and actually see your work make an impact.
• Remote by default: Work where you’re most productive. We care about outcomes, not where your desk is.
• Globally diverse: Our fully remote setup means you’ll collaborate with a strong, international tech team bringing different perspectives to the table.
• 25 days + bank holidays annual leave + 1 extra day on your birthday
• Company pension
• Bring your dog to work 🐶
• Remote role or we have shared working space in central london (2 days a week) / home based with flexible working policy

Equal Opportunity Statement

At Slick, embracing diversity in all of its forms and fostering an inclusive environment for all people to do the best work of their lives with us.

We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, veteran, neurodiversity status or disability status.