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
Preferred Education
Master's Degree
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