Lighthouse jobs in Surrey

Join our team at the Guardian and be a part of a diverse and inclusive global organisation that delivers fearless, investigative journalism, and holds power to account. Our team of award-winning journalists, cutting-edge commercial professionals, and industry-leading digital experts are committed to making a difference and represent a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. We offer a challenging and exciting environment for career development, with a focus on training, growth and fostering an inclusive culture.

We are seeking an interactive developer to join our editorial design team. You will help develop engaging visual journalism to provide best in class experiences of Guardian content and further the Guardian's goal to be the world's most trusted source for high-quality, independent journalism.

The stories you'll work on could span almost any subject. Recent projects include an investigation into Nigel Farage's use of the personalised video platform Cameo, an immersive visual narrative exploring how western intelligence uncovered Vladimir Putin's plans for the invasion of Ukraine, and an engaging experience for readers to browse the 100 best novels of all time. Working alongside journalists, designers and developers, you'll use interactive storytelling to make complex reporting accessible, compelling and memorable for millions of readers.

This is a 12-month NUJ fixed-term contract or internal staff secondment.

About the role

• Working as part of the Guardian's editorial design team, design and build new storytelling formats, interactive experiences, and editorial templates across our platforms
• Conceiving, experimenting with and building creative prototypes to expand our storytelling parameters and toolkit
• Design and build both one-off editorial experiences and scalable, repeatable formats
• Collaborate with editors, designers, reporters, developers and other visual journalists on news and feature projects
• Keep abreast of innovations in storytelling, particularly for mobile and emerging platforms

About you

• Fluency in a front-end web framework ideally Svelte, or with experience in React, Angular, Vue and happy to learn Svelte. Typescript is a plus
• Solid experience of web and accessibility best practices such as W3C standards, responsive design and progressive enhancement
• Experience building creative concepts, pages and projects in collaboration with designers and other developers to craft digital experiences
• Developing, testing and collaborative problem solving across browsers and devices using tools like Lighthouse or Browserstack
• Understanding of use cases for modern layout systems such as CSS Flexbox, Grids and Regions
• Experience with CSS animations and modern web graphics APIs (SVG, Canvas)
• Experience with SASS and creating accessible, scalable animations with rich media including SVGs, using either vanilla CSS, Canvas or animation libraries like GSAP and P5.j
• Confident with JSON, error handling and web security best practices
• Building rich interactive experiences with a variety of media assets (videos, animations, images, audio) and an understanding of how to serve these performantly
• Confident with git, code review best practices, refactoring, package managers like npm and generally being a good code colleague
• Experience using Figma developer tools and an understanding of designing with Figma
• Good eye for design, typography, motion, interaction design, and adherence to design system and brand guidelines
• Comfortable switching from creative exploration to delivering rigorous code – owning greenfield development of prototypes, tools and formats as well as navigating mature repos, from quick prototypes to robust scalable applications
• Able to translate complex technical ideas to non-technical stakeholders with clarity and enthusiasm
• An organised self-starter comfortable working in a fast-paced editorial environment, adhering to tight deadlines
• Embraces the Guardian's values - honesty, integrity, courage, fairness, a sense of duty to the reader and the community
• Ideally, you'll have a demonstrable ability to bring a diverse perspective to this role

We actively encourage applications from groups traditionally underrepresented in the UK media.

We operate in a hybrid environment working at least 3 days a week from our offices in Kings Cross.

Job share applications are welcome. If you are keen to apply jointly with someone else as a job share, you should make a single application and combine your application documents.

We value and respect all differences (seen and unseen) in all people. We aspire to have inclusive working experiences and an environment that reflects the audience we serve, where our people have equal access to career development opportunities, their voices are heard and can contribute to our future. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Many of our staff work flexibly and we will consider all requests for flexible working arrangements.

The salary for this NUJ role starts from £47,731, with a package commensurate with the skills, level of experience, and responsibilities of the position.

How to apply

To apply, please upload your latest CV and a cover letter which outlines why you'd love to take on this role, and why you're a great match for what we're looking for. Please ensure you share a link to your portfolio or examples of your work in your cover letter.

We appreciate the time taken to prepare each application we receive. We do not use AI-assisted technology to review applications; every application is reviewed by a member of our recruitment team. Thank you for bearing with us during the screening process.

The closing date for applications is Monday 20 July 2026.

All roles at the Guardian are open for everybody to apply. It is important to us that you feel supported and comfortable throughout your recruitment process, in order to perform your best. Please let us know if there are any changes we could make to help your application, this includes providing documents in accessible formats or personalising the process to better support your needs. Please contact Arvin Vakilly on arvin.vakilly@theguardian.com to discuss further so we can work with you to support you through your application.

Benefits at the Guardian

You'll have six weeks of annual leave per year (plus bank holidays) with the option to purchase an additional 5 days. Our pension scheme is generous; if you contribute 5% then we will contribute 8-12% (depending on your age). We believe in giving back, which is why employees are given 2 volunteering days annually and the option of payroll giving. Season ticket loans are also available.

You are entitled to life cover, income protection, and eye tests. You can also opt in to dental insurance.

We have enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave policies in place. We also support our employees by offering an IVF, menopause, baby loss, and trans equality policy.

Culture and wellbeing

We want everyone to feel like they belong at the Guardian and we champion diversity of thought. Our various employee forums provide a platform to use their voice to foster an inclusive workplace. We became the first major media organisation to achieve B Corp status.

We offer tools to help you prioritise your wellbeing including access to our employee benefits platform which provides tailored support for health and wellbeing. In addition, we also offer free yoga and pilates classes. These run alongside our corporate gym membership and cycle to work scheme.

Our canteen has views overlooking the Regents Canal and caters for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Learning and development

We encourage personal and professional growth. Employees have access to a broad range of tools and solutions, and we are happy to support the pursuit of professional qualifications through vocational courses and apprenticeships.

We value honesty in your application.

AI generated content must not be presented as your own work. Please review our guidance on the use of AI in your application here.

Benefits

• Holiday

  30 days’ annual leave per annum with a holiday purchase scheme (for permanent or fixed-term contract employees based in the UK).

• People policies

  We have enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave policies in place. We also support our employees with IVF, menopause, baby loss and trans equality policies.

• Learn hub

  We invest in the growth and development of our colleagues. Our offering includes programmes, workshops, online resources and specialist training. There are dedicated areas for different departments giving you the resources you need, whatever your role.

• Healthcare

  We offer private healthcare for you and your family, as well as dental insurance.

• Pension

  Our pension scheme is generous; if you contribute 5%, we will contribute 8-12% (depending on your age). You are also entitled to life cover and income protection.