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Job Specification Profile for a Visual Developer

💰 $95,000 - $150,000

TechnologyData & AnalyticsDesignSoftware Development

🎯 Role Definition

The Visual Developer is a creative technologist who sits at the crucial intersection of data, design, and software engineering. More than just a coder or a designer, this individual is a storyteller who translates complex datasets and abstract concepts into intuitive, engaging, and aesthetically pleasing visual narratives. They are responsible for building the front-end interfaces, interactive charts, and dynamic dashboards that empower users to explore data, uncover insights, and make informed decisions. This role requires a unique hybrid of strong programming fundamentals, a keen eye for UI/UX design, and a deep appreciation for the art and science of data visualization.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Frontend Developer with an interest in data.
  • Data Analyst or BI Analyst with strong technical and design skills.
  • UI/UX Designer who has learned to code.
  • Full-Stack Developer focusing on user-facing features.

Advancement To:

  • Senior or Lead Visual Developer
  • Data Visualization Architect
  • Manager, Data Visualization & Analytics
  • UI/UX Architect

Lateral Moves:

  • Data Engineer
  • Product Manager (for data-centric products)
  • UX Researcher

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Design, develop, and deploy highly interactive and intuitive dashboards for executive and operational stakeholders, focusing on performance and user experience.
  • Translate complex business requirements and raw data into compelling visual stories and actionable insights that are easily understood by non-technical audiences.
  • Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code for custom data visualizations using modern JavaScript libraries such as D3.js, React, or Vue.js.
  • Collaborate closely with UI/UX designers, product managers, and data scientists to create wireframes, mockups, and prototypes for new data products and features.
  • Develop and maintain a library of reusable visual components and design patterns to ensure consistency and speed up future development cycles.
  • Integrate data from a variety of sources, including REST APIs, GraphQL endpoints, and SQL databases, into front-end applications.
  • Champion best practices in data visualization, ensuring that chart choices, color palettes, and layouts are appropriate for the data and the audience's goals.
  • Optimize web and mobile applications for maximum speed and scalability, ensuring that visualizations remain performant even with large datasets.
  • Conduct thorough user testing and gather feedback on visual interfaces to iterate and improve the overall user experience.
  • Stay at the forefront of emerging trends, tools, and techniques in the fields of data visualization, front-end development, and user interface design.
  • Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for visual standards, component libraries, and data sources to empower other team members.
  • Transform static design mockups from tools like Figma or Sketch into fully functional, pixel-perfect, and responsive web interfaces.
  • Work directly with business stakeholders to understand their analytical questions and propose innovative visual solutions to meet their needs.
  • Ensure all visual outputs adhere to the company's brand guidelines, accessibility standards (WCAG), and design system.
  • Build custom visual plugins and extensions for Business Intelligence platforms like Tableau or Power BI when out-of-the-box functionality is insufficient.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis by quickly building prototype visualizations.
  • Contribute to the organization's broader data strategy and help define the roadmap for analytical tools and platforms.
  • Collaborate with data engineering teams to translate front-end data needs into efficient back-end models and API contracts.
  • Participate actively in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospective agile ceremonies within the development team.
  • Mentor junior developers, analysts, or designers on the principles of effective data visualization and front-end development.
  • Participate in code reviews to maintain high standards of code quality, performance, and security across the team.
  • Assist in the evaluation and selection of new technologies, frameworks, and tools for the data visualization stack.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Deep expertise in modern JavaScript (ES6+), HTML5, and CSS3, including CSS pre-processors like SASS or LESS.
  • Proficiency with at least one major front-end framework, such as React, Vue.js, or Angular.
  • Mastery of data visualization libraries, especially D3.js, and familiarity with others like Chart.js, Highcharts, or ECharts.
  • Hands-on experience with Business Intelligence and analytics platforms like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker.
  • Strong ability to write and optimize complex SQL queries to retrieve and manipulate data.
  • Experience consuming and integrating data from RESTful APIs and/or GraphQL.
  • Competency with UI/UX design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD.
  • Solid understanding of version control systems, particularly Git, and collaborative workflows like GitFlow.
  • Knowledge of web accessibility standards (WCAG) and how to build compliant interfaces.
  • Familiarity with modern front-end build pipelines and tools (e.g., Webpack, Vite, npm).

Soft Skills

  • Data Storytelling: The ability to weave a compelling narrative from data to drive understanding and action.
  • Communication and Presentation: Can clearly articulate complex technical concepts and design rationale to diverse audiences.
  • Problem-Solving: A knack for untangling complex problems and devising elegant, user-centric solutions.
  • Creativity and an Eye for Design: A strong sense of aesthetics, layout, typography, and color theory.
  • Stakeholder Management: Adept at listening to, empathizing with, and managing the expectations of business partners.
  • Collaboration: A true team player who thrives in a collaborative, cross-functional environment.
  • Meticulous Attention to Detail: A commitment to delivering polished, pixel-perfect, and error-free work.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent professional experience demonstrating expertise in visual development.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or a related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Computer Science
  • Graphic Design
  • Information Systems
  • Data Science & Analytics
  • Human-Computer Interaction

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3-7 years in a role involving front-end development, data visualization, or BI development.

Preferred: We strongly prefer candidates who have proven experience in a role that required a blend of front-end engineering, UI/UX principles, and working with complex data to build analytical applications or dashboards.

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