Senior Full Stack Software Developer - Node.js & React in Portishead

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

Job Summary

As a Senior Full Stack Engineer at Charles River, you will help shape how users interact with our applications by designing and building cloud-native, modern web systems across the stack - from responsive user interfaces to resilient APIs and robust backend services. You will play a pivotal role in driving the architecture, scalability, and quality of digital solutions that support life-saving therapies. Note: This role requires strong proficiency in Node.js and React. It is a fully remote position with occasional travel depending on business needs.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Build and maintain robust, scalable RESTful APIs and backend services.
• Develop responsive and intuitive front-end UIs integrated with system APIs.
• Ensure code adheres to industry best practices, coding standards, and is well-documented.
• Write and maintain automated unit, integration, and end-to-end tests (Jest, Playwright, etc.).
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including Product, Design, and DevOps.
• Architect and implement secure, performant systems using modern DevSecOps practices.
• Refactor and modernise legacy systems while maintaining business continuity.
• Stay up to date with advancements in web technologies, AI-assisted development tools, and industry trends.
• Participate in code reviews, sprint planning, and retrospectives as part of an Agile team.

Job Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience.
• Proven experience with Node.js and React in building production-grade applications.
• Experience building and consuming RESTful APIs; GraphQL is a plus.
• Knowledge of modern DevOps and CI/CD practices, cloud-native development, and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience with datalayers (e.g., PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis).
• Strong understanding of software architecture, SOLID principles, and security best practices.
• Familiarity with observability tools (e.g., OpenTelemetry, Prometheus) and logging frameworks.
• Experience integrating or utilising AI/ML tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, OpenAI API) is a plus.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to take ownership of features from design to deployment.

About Corporate Functions

The Corporate Functions provide operational support across Charles River in areas such as Human Resources, Finance, IT, Legal, Sales, Quality Assurance, Marketing, and Corporate Development. They partner with their colleagues across the company to develop and drive strategies and to set global standards. The functions are essential to providing a bridge between strategic vision and operational readiness, to ensure ongoing functional innovation and capability improvement.

About Charles River

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly supported the development of 80% of the drugs approved by the FDA in the last five years.

At Charles River Laboratories, we recognize and recruit all talent. We are a company committed to fostering a sense of belonging and work daily in this direction.