Frontend Developer

Description

Who We Are

Cast Iron Coding is a web development agency in Portland, Oregon. We create web applications and websites for clients that spread knowledge and contribute to the common good. We’ve worked for many years to support open-access publishing, building Manifold Scholarship, the Next Generation Library Publishing initiative’s Meru platform, and the online library for the Middle English Text Series (METS). Most of our work is with universities, state governments, arts institutions, foundations, and other non-profits.

Who We’re Looking for

Cast Iron is seeking a Frontend Web Developer with 1+ year of professional experience who can be a reliable and productive contributor under the oversight of the team lead and project manager. Our team is already strong on HTML, CSS, and UX, so we're especially interested in someone whose interests lean more back-of-the-frontend: application logic and architecture, data fetching, and deciding what renders on the server versus in the browser. You'll still write plenty of markup and styles, and we expect everyone's work to conform to accessibility guidelines. But you'll be well-suited for this role if you enjoy thinking about how an application is structured and where its data comes from.

We are open to a range of experience levels for this role, and are willing to mentor the right candidate who is less experienced but is driven and curious. Because we care about code readability, long-term maintenance, and your own growth, we'd generally rather you build something durable than something fast and disposable. But we're an agency doing work for hire, and every project has a budget. What we're really after is judgment: knowing where care pays off, where good enough is in fact good enough, and when to speak up because the budget and the right solution are in conflict.

Responsibilities

• Implement data fetching and state management in frontend applications, and make considered decisions about what renders on the server and what renders in the browser.
• Work with the server-side capabilities of frameworks like Astro and TanStack Start (routing, server functions, and caching, and deployment).
• Maintain and extend existing client projects, including sites built on older technologies.
• Work closely with designers to implement responsive interfaces from static designs and prototypes. Review designs in tools like Figma and provide implementation feedback to designers as needed.
• Produce user interfaces in semantic HTML, modern CSS, and JavaScript that meet WCAG accessibility guidelines.
• Work with data from GraphQL APIs. Communicate questions about API design and change requests to the backend team as needed.
• Conduct QA and accessibility testing during the development process and before launch.
• Review teammates' code and respond thoughtfully to review of your own.
• Communicate with clients in writing and in meetings to demonstrate progress and resolve implementation questions.
• Attend regular frontend team meetings to discuss team processes, practices, and tools.
• Estimate your own work and track it against the budget as a project progresses.
• Raise concerns early when a project's scope, budget, or timeline no longer fit the work.
• Manage tasks carefully in ClickUp and provide thoughtful, accurate updates and feedback to PMs and team lead.
• Be accountable to your teammates and treat them with kindness, respect, and empathy.

View Full Job Posting