React / Node.js Developer — Courier & Freight Booking Portal (Ongoing Development)

Our client is a UK-based international courier and freight wholesaler and a DHL Authorised Service Partner, operating since 2005. They run a customer-facing shipment booking portal that lets customers compare carrier services, book shipments, generate and print carrier labels, complete customs paperwork, and track and manage deliveries. The portal is live and built on a React front end and a Node.js back end. We're looking for a skilled full-stack developer to take on continued development — new features, integrations, performance and UX improvements, bug fixing, and ongoing maintenance. What You'll Be Working On 1) Building and refining booking, quoting, label generation, and tracking workflows 2) Integrating with carrier APIs (DHL Express / Economy Select and others) for rates, labels, customs documentation, and tracking 3) Improving the front-end experience: responsive UI, form flows, validation, account management 4) Strengthening the back end: REST API design, data handling, authentication, error handling 5) Fixing bugs, improving performance, and hardening security 6) Working from briefs and iterating based on feedback Required Skills & Experience 1) Strong commercial experience with React (hooks, state management, component architecture) 2) Strong Node.js back-end experience (Express or similar, REST APIs) 3) Database experience (e.g. MySQL / PostgreSQL / MongoDB — tell us what you've used) 4) Experience integrating third-party APIs, ideally courier/logistics/shipping carriers (DHL, UPS, FedEx, etc.) 5) Solid understanding of authentication, security, and handling sensitive customer data 6) Git-based workflow and clear, documented code Excellent written English and reliable communication Nice to Have 1) Prior work on shipping, logistics, e-commerce fulfilment, or payments platforms 3) Experience with customs documentation and label/PDF generation 4) Familiarity with payment gateway integration 5) DevOps / deployment experience (CI/CD, cloud hosting) Engagement Start: as soon as we find the right person Type: ongoing, as needed Hours: flexible — please indicate your weekly availability Time zone: UK working hours overlap preferred To Apply, Please Tell Us Examples of React + Node.js applications you've built or maintained (links/portfolio). Any experience integrating courier or shipping carrier APIs — which carriers? Your approach to working on an existing live codebase you didn't originally build. Your availability (hours per week) and hourly rate. Start your reply with the word "PARCEL" so we know you've read this in full.