Lead Software Engineer

Location: Phoenix, AZ 85027 or Remote

Employment Type: W2 Contract, 6+ Months

Position Overview: Talent Groups is seeking a Senior Full Stack Software Engineer to join PetSmart's Platform Engineering team. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, identifying opportunities for improvement, and driving projects from concept through delivery. The ideal candidate has at least five years of software engineering experience, strong hands-on expertise in JavaScript, TypeScript, Express, Next.js, and Git, and the ability to turn broad requirements into practical technical solutions. This position offers significant autonomy, technical influence, and the opportunity to own meaningful platform initiatives. Previous Tech Lead or Lead Engineer experience is preferred, but candidates who demonstrate strong technical ownership and leadership are encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities: Own engineering initiatives from problem identification and solution design through development, testing, and delivery. Build scalable applications and services using JavaScript, TypeScript, Express, and Next.js. Evaluate existing applications and recommend improvements to architecture, performance, maintainability, and functionality. Translate high-level requirements into technical design documents, Jira tickets, and actionable implementation plans. Collaborate with product, engineering, and cross-functional teams to define solutions and technical direction. Drive projects independently while incorporating feedback, participating in peer reviews, and communicating progress. Contribute to architectural discussions, code reviews, and technical decisions. Troubleshoot complex issues and recommend practical solutions. Support the migration and modernization of React applications into an established Next.js monorepo. Promote engineering best practices, code quality, testing, and maintainable development standards.

Required Qualifications: 5+ years of professional software engineering experience. Strong, hands-on production experience with all five technologies: JavaScriptTypeScriptExpressNext.jsGitExperience developing and maintaining modern full stack applications. Ability to create technical design documents and translate high-level requirements into actionable Jira tickets. Demonstrated ownership of projects from initial concept through design, implementation, and delivery. Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently. Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts and collaborate with engineers and stakeholders. Experience participating in code reviews, incorporating feedback, and working across engineering teams.

Preferred Qualifications: Previous experience as a Tech Lead, Lead Engineer, or Senior Engineer with demonstrated project ownership. Experience leading technical initiatives and coordinating work across multiple engineers. Experience with React and modern frontend architecture. Experience migrating existing React applications to Next.js. Familiarity with Next.js App Router, Server Components, Client Components, server-side rendering, caching, and data fetching. Experience with monorepo architectures, particularly Nx and pnpm. Familiarity with Jest, React Testing Library, and Playwright. Experience with NestJS, Vercel, or cloud platforms such as GCP, AWS, or Azure. Experience improving application performance, Lighthouse scores, and Core Web Vitals. Only qualified candidates will be contacted. Talent Groups is an Equal Opportunity Employer.