Role Overview
As a Lead Frontend Engineer, you will own the end-to-end direction of our frontend applications used across convenience-store robotics operations. You will collaborate closely with business teams to clarify requirements, work with designers on implementation-ready specifications, and lead the prototyping → implementation → release workflow. You will guide two existing frontend engineers as a player-coach while continuing to contribute hands-on.
You will work in an English-speaking engineering team while delivering a product primarily for Japanese end users. While Japanese managers and business stakeholders can communicate in English, a significant portion of the input information and business context is in Japanese.
Team & Platform Context
We are planning to migrate our legacy Unity-based 2D application to a modern WebView-based architecture in the future. Currently, we are in the initial phase of building a simple web application using TypeScript and React, which integrates with a newly developed .NET REST API backend. While our broader ecosystem relies on C#, gRPC, and Azure, this role focuses on establishing this new web-standard client layer from the ground up. Historically, engineers touched all components; as we scale, we are specializing roles. You will lead the frontend domain, bridging the gap between complex robotics data and intuitive user experiences, while laying the groundwork for a unified multi-platform client application.
The Challenge: Software Meets Hardware
Because our software applications (spanning both frontend and backend) serve as the direct interface for end-users, we face a constant stream of diverse and evolving requirements. You will work in a unique environment where software speed meets hardware reality:
- Bridging the Cycle Gap: Hardware and Automation development cycles are inherently longer than pure software. You will often need to devise creative software workarounds to mitigate hardware issues or implement "virtual" features to validate business value before hardware is ready.
- Elevating Engineering Standards: While our hardware and automation teams are experts in their fields, they may be less familiar with modern SaaS practices or non-functional requirements (NFRs). You will act as a bridge, supporting other teams with general software development know-how and ensuring the overall system is robust and scalable.
This role requires more than just coding; it demands the flexibility to navigate constraints and the leadership to raise the bar for software engineering across the organization.
Key Responsibilities