Front-End Technical Lead – Wagtail CMS
Black Canyon Consulting · Bethesda, MD
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Jul 20, 2026
Bethesda, MD
Jul 22, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A technical leadership role focused on front-end architecture and delivery for public-facing web platforms at NCBI. The work centers on driving adoption of a Web Design System, building reusable UI components, and integrating with a headless CMS via GraphQL and REST APIs, all within a Django, React, and Next.js stack. The role also involves mentoring developers and collaborating across UX, backend, DevOps, and product teams, and suits an experienced full-stack web developer with a strong front-end focus and accessibility expertise.
Senior level · 5+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Bachelor's required
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 160 people in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 120–210
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $158,337 (middle half $126,441–$180,105).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) is a federal agency; the role is likely on-site or hybrid in the Bethesda/Rockville, MD area, though the posting does not explicitly state a city. The DC metro CBSA is used as the best fit.
The title 'Front-End Technical Lead' carries no standard seniority level word, so advertised seniority is Unspecified; the 5+ years requirement and technical leadership scope support a Senior classification.
The posting is ambiguous between 15-1252 (Software Developers) and 15-1254 (Web Developers): the role builds full-stack web applications with React/Next.js/Django and ships APIs and services, which points to 15-1252, but the strong emphasis on Web Design System, CMS integration, accessibility, and public-facing web platforms also has 15-1254 characteristics. 15-1252 is selected as primary because the role explicitly builds applications, APIs, and services — not just pages/sites.
Headless CMS integration is listed as a required skill area in the qualifications; Wagtail CMS specifically appears only in the Preferred section and is marked accordingly.
Section 508 and WCAG are listed as distinct accessibility standards under Required qualifications and are captured as separate required skills.
No compensation figures are provided; the posting states only 'competitive salary commensurate with experience and location.'
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): U.S. Web Design System.
Read the full posting
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