Software Developer Web Developer

Job description

**Introduction**
A career in IBM Software means you’ll be part of a team that transforms our customer’s challenges into solutions.

Seeking new possibilities and always staying curious, we are a team dedicated to creating the world’s leading AI-powered, cloud-native software solutions for our customers.

Our renowned legacy creates endless global opportunities for our IBMers, so the door is always open for those who want to grow their career.

IBM’s product and technology landscape includes Research, Software, and Infrastructure.

Entering this domain positions you at the heart of IBM, where growth and innovation thrive.
**Your role and responsibilities**
We are seeking experienced Web Developers to join the ContextForge MCP Gateway team to build and enhance the Admin UI and eventually transition to a new UI stack.

ContextForge is an open-source production-grade gateway, proxy, and registry for Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and A2A Agents.

It federates MCP and REST services, providing unified discovery, auth, rate-limiting, observability, virtual servers, multi-transport protocols, plugins and an Admin UI: https://github.com/IBM/mcp-context-forge

As a Senior Web Developer, you will build the Admin UI using HTMX, Alpine.js, and TypeScript - creating real-time dashboards for MCP gateway operations.

You will work on CRUD interfaces, real-time features, federation visualization, and virtual server composition tools.

This role is ideal for developers experienced with server-driven UI patterns (HTMX) or willing to learn an alternative to heavy client-side frameworks like React.

Your Role And Responsibilities

UI Development

• Build CRUD interfaces: tools, servers, A2A agents, gateways, prompts, resources with RBAC

• Create real-time features: log viewer with filtering, search, export capabilities

• Implement WebSocket streaming for live updates and event monitoring

• Design metrics dashboards: integration with Prometheus, charts, visualizations

• Build responsive layouts: mobile-first design with Tailwind CSS, eventually transitioning to a new stack

• Develop dark mode toggle and theme management

Federation & Virtual Server UI

• Create federation UI: peer gateway status, health checks, tool aggregation visualization

• Build virtual server composition interface: drag-and-drop tool selection, visual builder

• Implement A2A agent configuration UI: agent registration, parameter configuration

• Design connection string exports: code snippets for client configuration

• Create visual representations of complex system state

HTMX & Server-Driven Architecture

• Implement HTMX patterns: server-driven partial updates, out-of-band swaps

• Design hypermedia-driven workflows: progressive enhancement, graceful degradation

• Integrate with FastAPI backend: Jinja2 templates, endpoint coordination

• Optimize for low JavaScript footprint: leverage HTMX for interactivity

• Create reusable HTMX components and patterns

Alpine.js & Interactivity

• Use Alpine.js for lightweight client-side reactivity: modals, dropdowns, accordions

• Implement form validation and client-side state management

• Create interactive components: data tables, filters, search interfaces

• Handle client-side routing and navigation enhancements

• Build component library with Alpine.js directives

Testing & Quality

• Write Playwright UI tests: E2E tests, visual regression testing, accessibility testing

• Implement accessibility standards: WCAG compliance, ARIA labels, keyboard navigation

• Test cross-browser compatibility: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge

• Perform mobile testing and responsive design validation

• Create test fixtures and page objects for maintainable tests
**Required technical and professional expertise**
Frontend Development (5+ years)

• Few years of frontend development experience with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript/TypeScript

• Strong expertise in semantic HTML5 and modern CSS3 (Flexbox, Grid, animations)

• Proficiency with TypeScript: types, interfaces, generics, tooling

• Experience with CSS frameworks: Tailwind CSS, Bootstrap, or similar utility-first frameworks

• Understanding of responsive design and mobile-first development

HTMX or Server-Driven UI

• Experience with HTMX or willingness to learn server-driven UI patterns

• Understanding of hypermedia concepts and progressive enhancement

• Experience with traditional server-rendered applications (preferred over heavy SPA frameworks)

• Knowledge of partial page updates and out-of-band swaps

• Familiarity with SSR (Server-Side Rendering) patterns

JavaScript & TypeScript

• Strong JavaScript fundamentals: ES6+, async/await, promises, event handling

• TypeScript experience: type definitions, interfaces, generics, tooling

• Experience with vanilla JavaScript or lightweight frameworks (Alpine.js, Stimulus, or similar)

• Understanding of DOM manipulation and browser APIs

• Knowledge of JavaScript module systems: ESM, bundling basics

UI/UX & Design

• Strong sense of UI/UX design principles and usability

• Experience with responsive design and mobile-first approaches

• Knowledge of accessibility standards: WCAG, ARIA, keyboard navigation

• Understanding of color theory, typography, and visual hierarchy

• Ability to translate designs into pixel-perfect implementations

Testing & Quality

• Experience with E2E testing: Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, or similar

• Knowledge of accessibility testing tools and techniques

• Understanding of cross-browser compatibility issues and solutions

• Experience with visual regression testing

• Proficiency with browser DevTools for debugging and performance
**Preferred technical and professional experience**
Advanced Frontend Skills

• Experience with Jinja2, Django templates, or similar server-side templating engines

• Experience with node.js, Figma, IBM Carbon, React

• Knowledge of WebSocket client implementation and real-time updates

• Understanding of Service Workers and Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

• Experience with frontend build tools: Vite, esbuild, Rollup

• Knowledge of CSS preprocessors: Sass, PostCSS

Real-Time & Interactive Features

• Experience building real-time dashboards and data visualization

• Knowledge of charting libraries: Chart.js, D3.js, Recharts, ApexCharts

• Experience with WebSocket or SSE for live updates

• Understanding of data streaming and efficient rendering

• Experience with virtual scrolling for large datasets

API Integration

• Experience consuming REST APIs from frontend applications

• Knowledge of API authentication: JWT, OAuth2, bearer tokens

• Understanding of error handling and retry logic in frontend

• Experience with API documentation tools: Swagger UI, OpenAPI

• Knowledge of GraphQL clients (Apollo, URQL) is a plus

Security & Best Practices

• Understanding of frontend security: XSS, CSRF, CSP, secure headers

• Knowledge of secure authentication patterns in frontend

• Experience with content security policy and CORS

• Understanding of OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities relevant to frontend

Development Tools

• Proficiency with version control: Git workflows, pull requests, code reviews

• Experience with linters and formatters: ESLint, Prettier, Stylelint

• Knowledge of CI/CD for frontend: automated testing, build pipelines

• Familiarity with package managers: npm, yarn, pnpm

• Experience with monorepo tools: Turborepo, Nx, or similar
IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics.

IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

Required Skill Profession

Other General