Director Front End Engineering Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Temporary Professional Santa Monica, CA, US

Salary Range: $90,000.00 To $110,000.00 Annually

We are a global community that is driven by the creative spirit of Los Angeles. Through an inspiring mix of music, news, and culture, we bring joy and connection – online, in-person and on the radio. Always excellent, accessible, and often unexpected, we are a constant source of fuel for the imagination, education and good vibes. At least, that is what our members tell us.

As NPR’s flagship member station in Southern California for more than 30 years and a community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW is the next generation of public media.

Our digital products are central to how audiences discover stories, music, culture, and community. We’re investing in modernizing and evolving our digital ecosystem and are looking for a collaborative, creative, and technically strong design/engineering partner to help shape the next generation of KCRW’s digital experiences.

KCRW is seeking a Senior Product Designer & Front End Engineer to lead the design and development of engaging, accessible, and scalable digital experiences across our web, mobile and content platforms.

This hybrid role combines UI/UX design, design systems, prototyping, and modern front-end engineering. You’ll partner closely with product, engineering, marketing, content, and audience teams to create elegant user experiences while also implementing performant, maintainable front-end applications.

Experience working across CMS-driven ecosystems, APIs, and customer engagement platforms is highly valued. Familiarity with middleware and integration workflows connecting systems such as Contentful, Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, analytics platforms, and audience data tools is a strong plus.

Success in this role will be defined by launching and supporting key enhancements to KCRW's digital platforms, improving usability and accessibility across web experiences, contributing to increased audience engagement and retention, and building reusable design and front‑end systems that improve development efficiency.

Employment is expected to continue for approximately twelve months and may be extended, modified, or concluded based on organizational needs and project priorities.

The role reports to the Director of Project Management.

• Product Design & UX
• Design intuitive, accessible, and visually compelling digital experiences across web and mobile platforms.
• Create wireframes, high‑fidelity UI designs, interactive prototypes, user flows, and design documentation in Figma.
• Help evolve KCRW’s digital design system and reusable component library.
• Translate audience insights, analytics, and stakeholder needs into thoughtful product experiences.
• Champion accessibility, usability, responsive design, and audience‑centered thinking.
• Conduct UX research, usability testing, and iterative design improvements.
• Work closely with the Project Manager to translate the needs of editorial, marketing, membership, events, and engineering stakeholders into effective digital experiences.
• Front End Engineering
• Build and maintain modern web applications using React, Next.js, TypeScript, and component‑based architecture.
• Develop performant, scalable, and maintainable front-end systems and reusable UI components.
• Integrate front-end applications with APIs, headless CMS platforms, and third‑party services.
• Collaborate with backend developers and platform teams on architecture and implementation.
• Contribute to CI/CD workflows, testing strategies, and front-end standards.
• Platform & Integration Work
• Work within Contentful and other headless CMS environments to power dynamic digital experiences.
• Support integrations with systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, analytics tools, and audience engagement platforms.
• Collaborate on middleware and API integration workflows between internal and external systems.
• Help improve personalization, content delivery, marketing automation, and audience engagement experiences.
• Help establish best practices across design, accessibility, performance, and front-end architecture.
• Stay current with emerging technologies, AI-assisted workflows, design tools, and digital product trends.
• Balance creative excellence with pragmatic delivery and organizational priorities.

• 5+ years of experience in product design, UI/UX, and front-end development.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating both design thinking and shipped front-end work.
• Expert proficiency with Figma for interface design and prototyping.
• Strong experience with modern front-end technologies including:
  • React
  • Next.js
  • TypeScript
  • HTML5
  • CSS3 / SCSS
  • Responsive and component-based design systems
• Experience building applications against REST and/or GraphQL APIs.
• Experience working with headless CMS platforms, especially Contentful.
• Understanding of accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design principles.
• Familiarity with Git, CI/CD workflows, testing frameworks, and modern development tooling.
• Strong understanding of performance optimization, SEO best practices, and analytics.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

• Experience with middleware, API orchestration, or integration platforms.
• Familiarity with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Segment, GA4, or customer data platforms.
• Experience with cloud hosting environments such as Vercel, AWS, or similar.
• Background in media, publishing, streaming, membership, or content-driven organizations.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted design/development workflows and automation tools.
• Motion design, animation, or interactive storytelling experience.

• Annual Salary Range is $90,000-$110,000.
• This role is a temporary full-time employee position.
• The initial term is expected to be approximately 12 months, with potential extension based on project needs and organizational priorities.
• Hybrid work schedule for select positions.
• Eligible for overtime and premium working holiday pay rate.
• Sick leave award.
• Vacation leave accrual.
• Paid holidays.
• Health insurance (including medical, dental, vision, FSA, life and AD&D) eligibility.
• 403(b) with company match.
• Passionate office environment surrounded by an incredible community of curious and talented colleagues.
• KCRW is a qualifying employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program - read more here to determine your eligibility.

KCRW aims to be representative of Southern California, and candidates with traditionally underrepresented backgrounds and perspectives are encouraged to apply. KCRW is an equal opportunity employer and actively recruits to promote diversity in our workforce. Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, status as a parent, national origin, disability, family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, or other non‑merit based factors.