Senior Software Engineer I (JavaScript)

Ready to build intelligent, high-impact applications that push the boundaries of modern JavaScript and AI tooling? Do you thrive in solving complex engineering challenges and shaping scalable, future‑ready solutions?

About the team

ScienceDirect is the world’s leading collection of science information on the web and Elsevier’s flagship product. We are looking for talented engineers to contribute to a culture of technical excellence paired with strong collaboration and modern engineering practices. Our teams are increasingly adopting AI‑assisted development workflows, and we are particularly interested in engineers who are excited about using AI tools to help design, write, test, and improve software.

About the role

We are seeking a talented and self‑motivated Frontend Software Engineer with strong skills in React and Node.js and a collaborative mindset. You will work as part of a cross‑functional product development team building modern web applications used by millions of researchers worldwide. Our teams are actively adopting AI‑assisted development practices, and we are looking for engineers who are enthusiastic about using AI tools as part of their day‑to‑day workflow. This includes using AI to accelerate implementation, support refactoring, generate tests, investigate issues, improve documentation, and assist with code review. You should be comfortable experimenting with AI to accelerate development while applying strong engineering judgement to ensure code quality, maintainability, and performance. We are not looking for engineers who rely uncritically on AI‑generated output; we are looking for engineers who use these tools to improve the quality, speed, and effectiveness of software development.

Key Responsibilities

• Work as part of a highly collaborative, cross‑functional, agile product development team to develop modern responsive web applications
• Implement intuitive, interactive, and visually appealing user interfaces using React
• Work closely with UX/UI designers to translate design concepts into functional web applications
• Ensure applications are optimised for performance, accessibility, and responsiveness across devices and browsers
• Use AI‑assisted development tools to help design, implement, refactor, and debug software
• Critically evaluate, adapt, and validate AI‑generated output to ensure it meets engineering and quality standards
• Help the team evolve effective AI‑supported development workflows
• Write well‑tested, documented, and peer‑reviewed code
• Work closely with Product Managers and QA to ensure software meets user and business requirements
• Contribute to engineering best practices, including testing, CI/CD, code review, and continuous improvement
• Support the growth of the London engineering team through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and participation in recruitment

Requirements

Core Engineering Skills

• Strong knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Experience building modern web applications using React
• Experience working with Node.js, Express, or related backend services
• Experience working with RESTful APIs
• Familiarity with agile development practices
• Strong collaboration and communication skills with a positive and constructive approach to teamwork

AI‑Assisted Development Experience

We are particularly interested in engineers who actively use AI tools as part of a software engineering workflow. Examples include:

• Experience using AI coding assistants such as GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or similar tools
• Comfort working in an AI‑augmented development environment
• Ability to break work into well‑scoped tasks that AI tools can assist with effectively
• Curiosity about how AI can improve developer productivity, experimentation, and software quality
• Enthusiasm for exploring and sharing effective ways of using AI in software engineering

Experience with these tools is valued, but curiosity and enthusiasm to learn are equally welcome.

Benefits

We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organization. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people with numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance, and sabbaticals.

• Comprehensive Pension Plan
• Home, office, or commuting allowance
• Generous vacation entitlement and option for sabbatical leave
• Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, and Family Care leave
• Flexible working hours
• Personal Choice budget
• Internal communities and networks
• Various employee discounts
• Recruitment introduction reward
• Employee Assistance Program (global)

About the business

ScienceDirect is home to almost one‑quarter of the world’s peer‑reviewed full‑text scientific, technical, and medical content. More than 15 million researchers, healthcare professionals, teachers, and students rely on ScienceDirect as a trusted source of nearly 2,200 journals and 26,000 book titles. The platform supports research and education with rich interactive content, including video, graphs, datasets, and images, along with tools that help users discover and stay up to date with relevant research.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know.