Technical Lead with Contentful

Who We Are
VML is a global creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands that drive growth. Guided by a Human First philosophy, VML is known for its innovative work for brands and consistently ranks among the world’s leading creative companies, including the WARC Creative 100. VML’s global network spans 55+ markets with principal offices in Buenos Aires, Kansas City, London, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore.
VML is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel.
For more information, please visit www.vml.com and follow along on LinkedIn #WeAreVML.
Contentful Technical Lead wanted to join a high-profile digital experience project for a major global brand.
The opportunity
This is a high-impact technical leadership role combining ownership of enterprise platform delivery, client-facing discovery and technical workshops with strong architectural influence and a balance between technical leadership and hands-on engineering.
You will help shape a modern, composable platform built around Contentful, React and an AWS-based integration and service layer, working closely with architects, engineers and client stakeholders. The project's technical landscape includes Contentful, AWS infrastructure, APIs and identity/profile services
A key part of the role is understanding Contentful as part of a wider technology ecosystem. You will make pragmatic technical decisions about what should be handled by Contentful out of the box, what belongs in the frontend or AWS middle layer, and how integrations with existing services should be designed.
The initial phase will focus heavily on technical discovery, turning requirements, existing architecture and integration constraints into clear technical decisions and an actionable implementation backlog.
What you’ll get to do
Lead technical discovery, facilitating client-facing workshops and translating business requirements into technical decisions.
Shape the overall implementation approach across Contentful, React, AWS services and enterprise systems.
Define clear boundaries between CMS capabilities, frontend functionality, integration/middleware services and backend business logic.
Decide where integrations should be implemented and define appropriate API and integration patterns.
Review and evolve Contentful content models, composition rules and reusable content patterns.
Shape the AWS-based integration and service layer connecting Contentful and the frontend with APIs, identity/profile services and other systems.
Turn discovery outcomes into technical scope, architecture and an actionable implementation backlog.
Lead engineers throughout delivery, providing hands-on guidance, code reviews and support with complex technical decisions.
Ensure strong engineering practices around security, performance, automated testing, CI/CD and observability.
These areas align with the planned technical discovery covering Contentful, AWS infrastructure, API contracts, profile services, security, CI/CD and integrations.
What you should have
Strong commercial experience with Contentful and headless CMS architectures.
Strong React and TypeScript experience in production-grade applications.
Good practical knowledge of AWS, particularly cloud-based services and integration layers.
Strong understanding of API design, middleware and system integration patterns.
Experience designing solutions where a headless CMS is part of a larger enterprise architecture, rather than a standalone platform.
Ability to make sound architectural decisions about what belongs in the CMS, frontend, middle layer or backend services.
Experience integrating CMS platforms with APIs, identity/profile services and other enterprise systems.
Proven experience leading technical discovery, requirements analysis and solution design.
Strong client-facing communication skills and the ability to explain technical decisions and trade-offs to both technical and business stakeholders.
Experience providing technical leadership while remaining hands-on when needed.
Fluency in English.
Technical environment
Contentful
React / TypeScript
AWS-based services and integration layer
REST APIs and service integrations
Identity and profile services
Server-side rendering
CI/CD and automated testing
Performance, security, monitoring and observability
You will collaborate with our UK project team, so we’ll need you to be available until 18:00 PL
Bonus points if you have
Experience with Contentful Personalisation or similar personalisation capabilities.
Experience with composable or MACH-style architectures.
Experience with server-side rendered React applications.
Experience with AWS infrastructure as code and automated environment provisioning.
Relevant Contentful or AWS certifications.
What we can offer you
Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we’ll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We’ll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.
Our culture thrives on our core values, designed for impact-driven individuals: Heart, Brains and Courage.
We lead with Heart, fostering empathy and trust where genuine connections and human-centric work flourish.
We empower your Brains for innovation, valuing relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence to solve complex challenges.
And we champion Courage, inspiring you to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions that push our thinking to be better than yesterday.
Learn more about us on our LinkedIn page, visit our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram WPP