Our client is searching for someone for a 5 month initial contract, hybrid in office 3 days per week in downtown Toronto, to do the following...

Must Haves:

· 5+ years experience architecting and implementing a scalable, maintainable design systems - preference is using shadcn/ui as the foundation

· 5+ years experience designing the system architecture plan and strategy for system adoption & evolution

· 5+ years experience enhancing and extending the core components to align with brand and accessibility standards (WCAG 2.0 Level AA),

· 5+ years experience in collaboration with the UX team, writing comprehensive documentation for all design system components and usage guidelines and testing

NOTE

• You will need to be comfortable being the sole engineer lead. They will not have the support of a senior to oversee their work. Not just responsible for the design and architecture but also the full end to end implementation.

Our client seeks a seasoned Front End Developer to lead the development of a brand-new design system built on the shadcn/ui framework. This developer will be pivotal in shaping our client's public facing products, ensuring our users have a consistent design throughout their journey. The successful candidate will drive the technical implementation of the design system, through requirements gathering, build & testing, and empower the internal teams through documentation and training. This initiative builds upon our client's objective to build a new digital experience with a focus on improving usability for both buyers and vendors.

Responsibilities:

1. Design System Planning & Requirements Gathering

a. Collaborate with stakeholders from internal UX, Product, and IT Operations to gather requirements and technical needs for the design system,

b. Audit the UI component handoff documentation to identify gaps and opportunities,

c. Design the system architecture plan and strategy for system adoption & evolution

Design System Development

a. Architect and implement a scalable, maintainable design system using shadcn/ui as the foundation,

b. Enhance and extend the core components to align with brand and accessibility standards (WCAG 2.0 Level AA),

c. Build net-new scalable custom components that reflect the product specific needs.

Testing and Quality Assurance

a. In coordination with UX, establish standards and processes for testing components across browsers, and devices,

b. Write and maintain automated tests using tools like Storybook,

c. Implement and document visual regression testing and accessibility audits.

Documentation & Training

a. In collaboration with the UX team, write comprehensive documentation for all design system components and usage guidelines,

b. Conduct workshops, training sessions, and create onboarding materials to educate internal teams on how to adopt and integrate the system,

c. Through the engagement, provide support and communication across engineering, product and design.

Team Collaboration & Leadership

a. Partner closely with internal UX designers, product managers, and stakeholders,

b. Advocate for best practices in front-end development, accessibility, and performance optimization,

Uphold high engineering standards

Required Skills & Experience:

• Candidate must have a minimum of 5 years of expert level - hands on experience with JavaScript libraries and frameworks (React), Typescript and modern web technologies and build tools,
• End to end ownership mindset, ability to take full responsibility for design, implementation, documentation and maintaining scalable front-end solutions independently,
• Proven experience creating and maintaining component libraries or design systems from scratch, preferably using or extending shadcn/ui
• Strong background in accessibility practices and standards, WCAG compliance, and semantic HTML,
• Proficient in writing technical documentation for cross functional teams,
• Experience with visual regression testing, unit/integration testing and component QA workflows and best practices