Problem
A leading UK grocery retailer needed to scale its online commerce platform to support growing demand and a parallel-shipping product organisation. The initial architecture was a React SPA with SSR and CSR — functional but not built to scale across multiple independent teams. As the programme grew, independent deployments and team autonomy became a hard requirement.
Role
Lead Frontend Engineer across a four-year continuous engagement. Started hands-on with the SPA architecture, then led the evolution to micro-frontends as the programme scaled. Managed a 3–4 person direct FE squad, participated in client-side technical hiring (conducting interviews), and drove frontend architectural standards across the wider delivery teams. India-based throughout — WFH during COVID, later hybrid with client office visits.
Stack
- Initial architecture: React SPA with SSR and CSR — GraphQL backend API
- Language: JavaScript initially; progressively migrated to TypeScript across the codebase
- Micro-frontends: Introduced as the programme scaled — Webpack Module Federation used for orchestration and independent deployment
- Testing: Unit tests and E2E test coverage
- Observability: AppDynamics initially; migrated to New Relic
Outcome
- Four-year continuous engagement across a scaling online grocery platform
- Architecture evolved from SPA to Module Federation micro-frontends to support parallel squad delivery
- TypeScript adoption driven progressively across the codebase
- 3–4 person FE squad led with direct reports; contributed to technical hiring through interview participation
- Observability stack migrated from AppDynamics to New Relic