Lead Software Developer

Kforce has a client in Overland Park, KS that is looking for a highly skilled Lead Software Developer to spearhead a client's front-end engineering efforts and drive the technical direction of their web products. Reporting directly to the CTO, The Lead Developer will serve as the primary technical authority for the React/TypeScript front-end ecosystem while bringing solid full-stack instincts including hands-on PHP and MySQL experience to every project. Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary technical owner of our ReactJS/TypeScript front-end codebase - architecture, standards, and roadmap
• Design and build performant, maintainable Single Page Applications (SPAs) and reusable component libraries
• Establish and enforce front-end coding standards, design patterns, and best practices across the team
• Lead code reviews for all front-end pull requests, ensuring quality, consistency, and security
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, browser compatibility issues, and accessibility gaps
• Write and maintain PHP back-end services and APIs that support front-end feature development
• Work with MySQL databases - designing schemas, writing optimized queries, and troubleshooting slow-running operations
• Collaborate with back-end engineers to define API contracts, data models, and integration patterns
• Contribute to all phases of the software development lifecycle, from requirements through deployment
• Directly manage two front-end developers: day-to-day task assignment, 1-on-1s, and quarterly/annual performance reviews
• Mentor and coach team members, helping them grow technically and professionally
• Foster a collaborative, results-driven engineering culture built on transparency and continuous improvement
• Participate in sprint planning, retrospectives, and cross-team technical discussions
• Propose and champion improvements to application scalability, reliability, and developer experience
• BS/MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field preferred; Equivalent professional experience will be considered
• 7+ years of software development experience, with a strong emphasis on front-end engineering
• Expert-level proficiency in ReactJS and TypeScript - you have built and maintained large-scale React applications in production
• Strong command of modern front-end fundamentals: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (ES6+), responsive design, and accessibility standards
• Hands-on experience with PHP (object-oriented, MVC patterns) and at least one major PHP framework (Laravel, Symfony, etc.)
• Solid relational database skills with MySQL - schema design, query optimization, and troubleshooting
• Proficiency with Git and collaborative version control workflows
• Demonstrated experience managing or formally leading developers, including performance feedback and mentorship
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills; Able to bridge technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Working knowledge of AWS, GCP, or Azure - familiarity with cloud-hosted infrastructure, deployments, and services
• Experience with RESTful API design and/or GraphQL
• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker), or infrastructure-as-code is a huge plus
• Experience in a high-traffic or performance-sensitive environment (e.g., applications serving 1M+ visitors/month)
• Familiarity with Jira or similar project management and ticketing tools