Senior UI Engineer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UI Engineer

Company: Tigera

Location: Cork, Ireland

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Software Engineering / Frontend Development

Date Posted: 2026-03-23

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and build the user interface for Tigera's new SaaS product, Calico Cloud, focusing on delivering high-quality, scalable frontend solutions.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including software engineers, DevOps engineers, and product managers to ensure timely and quality delivery of product features.

• Contribute to code quality through rigorous automated testing, code reviews, and adherence to modern engineering standards.

• Leverage expertise in modern web technologies like React, Next.js, and TypeScript to create robust and maintainable user interfaces.

• Participate in the full product development lifecycle, from design and scoping through implementation and deployment, with a focus on customer impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role is explicitly for a "Senior UI Engineer" on a "new team in Cork," building the "frontend of our new SaaS product, Calico Cloud." This indicates a significant opportunity to shape the product's user experience from its early stages, requiring strong architectural input and a proactive approach to problem-solving in a greenfield environment. The focus on "delivering products and features on time and to quality while managing and communicating risks" highlights the need for robust project management and communication skills alongside technical prowess.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement user interface components and features for the Calico Cloud SaaS platform using React, Next.js, and TypeScript.

• Write clean, efficient, and well-documented code, ensuring adherence to modern JavaScript (ES6+), semantic HTML, and CSS best practices.

• Develop and maintain comprehensive automated tests (e.g., using Cypress, Playwright, Jest, React Testing Library) to ensure code quality, application stability, and feature reliability.

• Collaborate effectively with product managers and designers to translate requirements, wireframes, and mockups into functional and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces.

• Actively participate in code reviews, providing constructive feedback to peers and junior engineers to maintain high engineering standards and foster a culture of continuous learning.

• Contribute to the evolution of Tigera's design system and component libraries, ensuring consistency and scalability across the Calico Cloud product.

• Identify and address technical debt, performance bottlenecks, and potential risks within the frontend codebase, proposing and implementing solutions.

• Mentor junior UI engineers, sharing best practices in frontend development, testing, and collaboration.

• Stay current with emerging frontend technologies and industry trends, evaluating their potential application to enhance the Calico Cloud user experience and development process.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibility of "managing and communicating risks" implies a need for proactive problem identification and transparent communication with stakeholders, including product managers and engineering leadership. This goes beyond just coding and requires a strategic understanding of project timelines and potential roadblocks.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, is generally expected for a senior-level role.

Experience: 5+ years of product-oriented UI development experience, with a strong preference for experience in SaaS environments.

Required Skills:

• Deep expertise in modern web application development frameworks, specifically React and frameworks like Next.js.

• Proficiency in TypeScript and modern JavaScript (ES6+).

• Strong understanding of semantic HTML and modern CSS, including component-driven styling approaches.

• Proven experience building and maintaining scalable single-page applications (SPAs) and/or hybrid SSR applications.

• Experience working with and contributing to design systems and component libraries.

• Solid experience with modern testing practices and tools, including but not limited to: Cypress, Playwright, Jest, and React Testing Library.

• Demonstrated experience collaborating with product managers and designers to scope, estimate, and deliver features.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in a technical leadership capacity, guiding frontend architecture and team development.

• Prior experience working in an open-source company, particularly with a focus on cloud, networking, or network security domains.

• Familiarity with AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or Claude Code.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "5+ years of product-oriented UI development experience (SaaS is a plus)" is a clear indicator of the expected seniority. The emphasis on "deep expertise" in React, Next.js, TypeScript, HTML, and CSS, coupled with experience in SPAs/SSR and design systems, points towards a need for a seasoned engineer capable of architectural contributions and mentoring. The inclusion of specific testing tools like Cypress and Playwright suggests a high bar for quality assurance and end-to-end testing.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase of at least two complex UI projects built with React/Next.js, demonstrating robust architecture, state management, and responsive design.

• Examples of component libraries or design system contributions, highlighting reusable UI elements and theming capabilities.

• Demonstrations of rigorous testing strategies, including unit, integration, and end-to-end tests, with clear examples of test coverage and effectiveness.

• Evidence of collaboration with design and product teams, potentially through case studies or project descriptions detailing the translation of wireframes/mockups into functional UIs.

Process Documentation:

• Examples of how you have documented frontend development processes, including coding standards, testing procedures, and deployment workflows.

• Case studies detailing how you have optimized frontend performance, improved application load times, or enhanced user experience through process improvements.

• Demonstrations of how you have integrated with backend APIs and managed data flow within complex applications.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior UI Engineer role, a portfolio is crucial for demonstrating practical application of skills. The emphasis should be on projects that showcase not just technical ability but also an understanding of product-oriented development, collaboration, and quality assurance. Highlighting contributions to design systems or reusable component libraries is particularly important for a senior role.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Senior UI Engineers in Ireland with 5-10 years of experience, specializing in modern frontend technologies (React, Next.js, TypeScript) and SaaS development, the estimated annual salary range is €70,000 - €95,000. This range accounts for the specific location in Cork, the seniority of the role, and the demand for specialized skills in cloud-native and network security software.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Health Insurance

• Vision Insurance

• Dental Insurance

• Competitive Salary

• Stock Options (often standard for senior roles in tech startups)

• Paid Time Off (PTO) and Public Holidays

• Professional Development Opportunities (conferences, training)

• 401(k) or equivalent pension plan (region-dependent)

• Potential for remote work flexibility or hybrid arrangements within Cork.

Working Hours: A standard 40-hour work week is typical, with expectations for flexibility to meet project deadlines and collaborate with a globally distributed team across different time zones. Some evening calls may be required to align with US-based teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on research from Irish tech salary guides and global compensation data for similar roles. The inclusion of benefits like "Full Health, Vision, Dental" is directly from the input data. Given Tigera's nature as a growing tech company in the cloud-native space, offering stock options is a strong possibility and worth noting as a potential benefit. The "40 hours" working hours figure is a standard baseline.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Networking, Software as a Service (SaaS). Tigera operates at the intersection of these critical technology sectors, providing solutions for Kubernetes security and observability.

Company Size: Tigera is a growing company, likely in the mid-size range (e.g., 100-500 employees), indicated by its multiple international offices and focus on scaling its SaaS product. This size offers a balance between the agility of a startup and the structure of a more established organization.

Founded: While the founding date is not explicitly provided, Tigera's focus on Kubernetes security and its prominent open-source offering (Calico Open Source) suggest it's a relatively established player in the cloud-native security space, likely founded in the last 5-10 years.

Team Structure:

• The UI Engineering team in Cork is described as "new," implying it will likely start small and grow. The Senior UI Engineer will be a foundational member.

• The team operates within a broader engineering department, collaborating closely with other software engineers, DevOps engineers, and product managers.

• Reporting is likely to an Engineering Manager or Director of Engineering, with direct interaction across product and design functions.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decisions: While not explicitly stated for UI, Tigera's focus on observability suggests a culture that values data to drive decisions and improvements. This will likely extend to frontend performance and user behavior analysis.

• Agile Development: The mention of delivering "products and features on time and to quality" and managing risks points towards agile methodologies, such as Scrum or Kanban, being employed.

• Customer-Centricity: The company explicitly states, "our focus is on our customers, who are the heroes of our story." This implies that UI/UX decisions will be heavily influenced by customer needs and feedback.

Company Website: tigera.io

📝 Enhancement Note: The company description emphasizes values like "aiming high and staying nimble," "continuous learning," and "respecting, collaborating, and supporting each other." This suggests a dynamic and supportive work environment where initiative and teamwork are highly valued. The "new team in Cork" aspect is a significant cultural element, offering a chance to influence team norms and processes.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level position within the Software Engineering track, specifically focused on Frontend/UI Development. It signifies a role requiring significant technical expertise, the ability to mentor others, and a degree of autonomy in decision-making regarding UI architecture and implementation. The "Senior" title implies leadership potential and a key contribution to product development strategy.

Reporting Structure: The Senior UI Engineer will likely report to an Engineering Manager or Director of Engineering. They will collaborate closely with Product Managers, Designers, and fellow Software Engineers (backend, DevOps). The "new team" structure might mean a flatter hierarchy initially, with more direct access to leadership.

Operations Impact: The UI Engineer's work directly impacts the user experience of Tigera's Calico Cloud SaaS product. A well-designed, performant, and intuitive UI is critical for customer adoption, satisfaction, and retention in the competitive cybersecurity and cloud-native market. The role has a direct influence on how customers interact with and perceive the value of Tigera's offerings, thereby impacting revenue and market position.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Leadership: Opportunity to become the technical lead for the UI team in Cork, defining frontend architecture, setting best practices, and driving technical vision.

• Mentorship and Management: Potential to grow into a formal management role, leading and scaling the UI engineering team as the product and company expand.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in cloud-native technologies, network security concepts, and advanced frontend patterns.

• Cross-Functional Exposure: Gain broader understanding of backend systems, DevOps pipelines, and product strategy through close collaboration.

• Impact on a New Product: Play a pivotal role in shaping a new SaaS product from its inception, offering significant visibility and impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title in a "new team" context strongly suggests opportunities for leadership and shaping processes. The growth trajectory is likely towards technical specialization or management, depending on individual career aspirations and company needs.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Tigera maintains physical office locations, and this role is based in Cork, Ireland, indicating an on-site or potentially hybrid work environment. The company emphasizes a "collaborative, flexible work environment."

Office Location(s): The primary location for this role is Cork, Ireland. While other offices exist (San Francisco, San Jose, Vancouver, London), the focus for this position is the Cork location.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Expect modern office facilities designed to foster collaboration, with meeting rooms, common areas, and potentially open-plan workstations.

• Technology Access: Access to necessary hardware, software licenses, and development tools required for advanced UI engineering.

• Team Interaction: Regular opportunities for face-to-face interaction with the local Cork engineering team, product managers, and designers, facilitating agile workflows and rapid feedback loops.

Work Schedule: A standard 40-hour work week is anticipated. However, given the global nature of Tigera's operations and the "new team" aspect, there might be an expectation for some flexibility to accommodate meetings with teams in different time zones (e.g., North America).

📝 Enhancement Note: The "On-site" remote status and the mention of offices in multiple locations suggest a preference for in-person collaboration, especially for a new, foundational team. However, "flexible work environment" might also imply some degree of hybrid arrangement is possible, though the primary expectation is likely on-site presence for team building and efficient collaboration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will likely conduct an initial call to assess general fit, experience, and interest in the role and company.

• Technical Interview(s): Expect one or more technical interviews focusing on frontend development skills. This may include:

  • Live Coding Challenge: Solving a UI-related problem in real-time, assessing coding proficiency, problem-solving skills, and approach.
  • System Design/Architecture Discussion: Discussing how to architect scalable and maintainable frontend applications, manage state, and integrate with backend services.
  • Deep Dive into Technologies: Questions about React, Next.js, TypeScript, CSS, and testing methodologies.

• Portfolio Review: A dedicated session to walk through your portfolio, discussing specific projects, your role in them, technical challenges, and outcomes. Be prepared to elaborate on your design choices and problem-solving strategies.

• Behavioral/Cultural Fit Interview: Assessing alignment with Tigera's company values (customer focus, aiming high, continuous learning, respect, collaboration, support). Questions will focus on teamwork, conflict resolution, and handling challenges.

• Hiring Manager/Team Lead Interview: Final discussion with the hiring manager or lead engineer to ensure alignment on expectations, team dynamics, and role responsibilities.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Selectively: Choose 2-3 of your strongest, most relevant projects that best showcase your skills in React, Next.js, TypeScript, and complex UI development.

• Showcase Impact: For each project, clearly articulate the problem you solved, your specific contributions, the technologies used, and the measurable impact or outcome. Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., performance improvements, user adoption rates).

• Highlight Collaboration: Be ready to discuss how you worked with designers, product managers, and backend engineers. Emphasize your communication and teamwork skills.

• Demonstrate Testing Rigor: Clearly explain your testing strategies and showcase examples of automated tests you've written.

• Code Quality: If sharing code samples, ensure they are clean, well-organized, and follow best practices. Be prepared to discuss your coding philosophy.

Challenge Preparation:

• Practice Core Concepts: Revisit fundamental data structures, algorithms, and JavaScript/TypeScript concepts.

• Frontend Challenges: Practice common frontend interview questions, including state management scenarios, component design, API integration, and performance optimization tasks.

• Testing Scenarios: Be prepared to write tests for given code snippets or discuss testing strategies for complex features.

• Company Research: Understand Tigera's products (Calico, Calico Cloud), their market, and their company values. This will help you tailor your answers and demonstrate genuine interest.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the "Senior" title and the focus on a "new team," expect the interview process to heavily scrutinize not just technical skills but also leadership potential, architectural thinking, and the ability to contribute to team culture and processes. The portfolio review will be a critical component.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Frontend Frameworks: React, Next.js (essential).

• Languages: TypeScript, modern JavaScript (ES6+).

• Styling: Modern CSS, potentially CSS-in-JS solutions or utility-first CSS frameworks.

• State Management: React Context API, Redux, Zustand, or similar robust state management libraries.

• Component Libraries/Design Systems: Experience building with or contributing to such systems.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Tools like Google Analytics, Amplitude, or Mixpanel for tracking user behavior and feature adoption.

• Performance Monitoring: Tools for monitoring frontend performance (e.g., Lighthouse, WebPageTest, custom monitoring solutions).

• Error Tracking: Services like Sentry or Bugsnag for identifying and diagnosing frontend errors.

CRM & Automation:

• Design Tools: Figma (familiarity required for collaboration).

• Version Control: Git (standard practice), likely hosted on GitHub.

• CI/CD: Familiarity with continuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines for frontend applications.

• Project Management: Tools like Jira, Asana, or similar for task tracking and workflow management.

• AI Coding Assistants: GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code (nice-to-have).

📝 Enhancement Note: The core stack is clearly defined as React, Next.js, and TypeScript. The emphasis on testing tools (Cypress, Playwright, Jest) is also a key indicator of the technology environment. Familiarity with design tools like Figma is explicitly mentioned as required.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Focus: Prioritizing customer needs and delivering solutions that provide real value, making them "the heroes of our story." This translates to building user-friendly, performant, and reliable interfaces.

• Aiming High & Staying Nimble: Encouraging ambitious goals while maintaining agility and adaptability in execution. This means being comfortable with fast-paced development and iterative improvements.

• Continuous Learning: A commitment to ongoing professional development, staying updated with the latest technologies and best practices in frontend engineering and cloud-native security.

• Respect, Collaboration, & Support: Fostering an inclusive environment where team members treat each other with respect, work together effectively, and support each other's growth and success.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect close collaboration with product managers, designers, backend engineers, and DevOps. Proactive communication and shared ownership are key.

• Open Feedback Culture: The emphasis on respect and support suggests an environment where constructive feedback is encouraged, both given and received, to drive continuous improvement.

• Knowledge Sharing: Team members are expected to share insights, best practices, and learnings, especially within the new Cork team to establish strong foundational practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's stated values are very specific and should be a guide for how candidates present themselves and approach their work. Demonstrating how your professional experience aligns with these values will be critical during interviews.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Building a New Product: Contributing to the foundational development of a new SaaS product (Calico Cloud) means navigating the inherent uncertainties and evolving requirements of a greenfield project.

• Establishing Team Norms: As part of a new team in Cork, actively participating in defining team processes, best practices, and culture.

• Keeping Pace with Cloud-Native Tech: The rapid evolution of cloud-native technologies and frontend frameworks requires continuous learning to stay effective.

• Integrating Complex Functionality: Translating complex network security and observability concepts into intuitive and user-friendly UI elements presents a significant technical and design challenge.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in advanced React patterns, Next.js features, TypeScript, and modern CSS techniques.

• Cloud-Native Ecosystem: Gain in-depth knowledge of Kubernetes, network security, and observability concepts through working on Tigera's core product.

• Leadership Skills: Develop technical leadership and mentorship capabilities, potentially leading feature development or a sub-team.

• Industry Exposure: Opportunities to attend industry conferences, workshops, and potentially pursue certifications related to frontend development or cloud technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "new team" aspect is both a challenge and a significant growth opportunity. It requires initiative and a proactive approach to problem-solving and process definition.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to significantly refactor a large frontend codebase. What was your approach, what challenges did you face, and what was the outcome?" (Assesses experience with code quality, architecture, and problem-solving.)

• "How would you approach designing a complex dashboard for network security monitoring, considering performance, usability, and scalability?" (Evaluates system design thinking, understanding of product requirements, and technical strategy.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "Tigera values 'continuous learning.' How do you stay current with frontend technologies, and can you give an example of a new skill you've recently acquired and applied?" (Assesses commitment to professional development.)

• "Our customers are the heroes. How would your UI development approach ensure our customers have a positive and effective experience with Calico Cloud?" (Connects technical work to customer impact and company values.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Tell a Story: For each project, frame it as a narrative: the problem, your solution, the challenges, and the results.

• Focus on "Why": Explain the rationale behind your technical decisions, not just what you did, but why you chose certain tools, patterns, or approaches.

• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use metrics to demonstrate the success of your work (e.g., "reduced load time by X%", "increased user engagement by Y%", "implemented Z feature used by N customers").

• Be Prepared for Deeper Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about specific code implementations, architectural choices, and testing strategies.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview questions will likely probe for evidence of Tigera's core values in action. Be ready to provide specific examples from your past experience that demonstrate customer focus, agility, learning, and collaboration.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UI Engineer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Greenhouse.

• Tailor your resume: Highlight your experience with React, Next.js, TypeScript, SPAs/SSR, design systems, and testing tools. Quantify your achievements and explicitly mention any SaaS or cloud-native development experience.

• Prepare your portfolio: Curate 2-3 of your strongest UI projects that showcase complex frontend development, collaboration with design/product teams, and robust testing strategies. Ensure code samples are accessible (e.g., GitHub) and well-documented.

• Practice interview questions: Review common frontend interview topics, system design principles for UIs, and behavioral questions aligned with Tigera's company values. Practice articulating your thought process for coding challenges and portfolio presentations.

• Research Tigera: Understand their products (Calico, Calico Cloud), their market position in cybersecurity and cloud-native networking, and their stated company values. This will help you tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.