Principal Full Stack JavaScript Engineer

Type: Full-time Permanent
Location: UK-based (flexible home office or hybrid working)
Office locations: Newcastle and Leeds
Hub locations: Edinburgh Manchester London

Were growing our Engineering team to strengthen our ability to deliver world-class digital products for our clients.

As a Principal Full Stack JavaScript Engineer youll join a small highly technical group tackling a complex transformation: breaking down a monolithic JavaScript platform into clearer modern components.

This is an individual contributor role for someone who thrives on problem-solving can ramp up quickly and can collaborate confidently with other very strong engineers.

Youll be hands-on from day one helping modernise architecture improve maintainability and set the foundations for future technology decisions all while staying pragmatic and delivery-focused.


What youll do

• Lead (hands-on) full-stack engineering across a JavaScript platform with a strong focus on architecture and problem-solving.

• Break down an existing monolithic system into well-structured components and services.

• Work closely with senior client engineers ask the right questions and influence technical direction through evidence and collaboration.

• Support a move from Vercel-hosted deployment towards a Google Cloud future improving deployment and operational readiness.

• Contribute to authentication modernisation by integrating an identity platform rather than maintaining bespoke authentication.

• Deliver value quickly by quickly understanding the domain codebase and priorities.

Who is hedgehog lab

hedgehog lab is a digital product consultancy with 20 years of experience. Based in Northern England we help global brands craft better digital experiences through technical excellence and human-first collaboration.


hedgehog lab benefits

• 28 days of annual leave plus bank holidays

• 5 Impact Days per year to spend on L&D volunteering or innovation

• Flexible working environment

• Enhanced parental policy

• Annual wellbeing budget two days of wellbeing

• Mental health support

• Company-supplied Apple Mac

What were looking for

• Deep expertise in JavaScript (TypeScript a plus).

• Strong full-stack experience including and API architecture.

• A pragmatic mindset: you care about quality but you also deliver outcomes and keep momentum.

• Confident communicator who can hold their own in technical discussions with senior engineers.

• Comfortable working in small flat teams with little hierarchy and lots of collaboration.

Nice to have

• Experience with Google Cloud (especially identity or auth-related services).

• Experience with Vercel or modern web deployment platforms.

• Interest or experience in open source communities or open source strategy.

• Exposure to geospatial/GIS/mapping products or highly interactive map UIs.

Ready to apply

Submit your application below. Please note that were unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.