Frontend Developer – Career Growth at Terra

Frontend development at Terra goes beyond visual implementation.
It involves performance, accessibility, maintainability, and close coordination with design, backend, and product.

This document describes a typical frontend growth path, where responsibility increases gradually and quality is always a priority.

Progress is not defined by time alone, but by communication, ownership, and consistency.

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First months (0–3 / 5 months)

During the first months, a Frontend Developer focuses on understanding how frontend projects are structured and how different parts of the system connect.

Tasks are intentionally simple and well scoped to reduce risk while learning internal patterns.

Typical tasks include:

• Small UI components
• Styling and layout adjustments
• Simple JavaScript interactions
• Bug fixes and visual refinements

Reviews are frequent and detailed, especially around:

• Code structure
• Naming and consistency
• Reusability
• Performance basics

Communication is essential at this stage.
When something is unclear, asking early is expected.

Ownership is low. The developer executes clearly defined tasks and focuses on learning how the system works.

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Guided complexity (3–6 months)

As confidence grows, the developer begins to take responsibility for more complex frontend pieces.

They start to:

• Own components end to end
• Handle basic state and interactions
• Coordinate small frontend changes with backend or design
• Understand performance implications of their work

Complexity increases gradually and always with guidance from a more senior frontend developer.

Reviews remain frequent, but the focus shifts from correctness alone to structure, scalability, and long-term maintainability.

Ownership becomes partial. The developer is responsible for specific components or sections, but not the frontend architecture as a whole.

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Consolidation (6–12 months)

At this stage, the Frontend Developer can work with confidence and relative autonomy.

They are able to:

• Design reusable components
• Make frontend architectural decisions within a project
• Handle performance considerations proactively
• Coordinate effectively with backend developers and designers

Supervision decreases significantly.
The developer can deliver work independently without introducing regressions or technical debt.

Ownership is high. Decisions are made with awareness of user experience, performance, and maintainability.

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Maturity (1–1.5 years)

The developer now operates at a system level.

They think beyond individual components and consider:

• Frontend architecture
• Shared patterns and abstractions
• Long-term performance and stability

Responsibilities often include:

• Leading frontend decisions in a project
• Mentoring junior frontend developers
• Acting as Dev Lead on frontend-heavy or no-backend projects
• Contributing to internal libraries or shared packages

Ownership is very high.
The developer feels responsible for the quality and health of the frontend system as a whole.

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Communication as a growth factor

At every stage, communication directly impacts growth speed.

Strong communication includes:

• Raising blockers early
• Providing context in PRs and tickets
• Explaining decisions and trade-offs
• Coordinating proactively with other roles

Lack of communication slows progression, regardless of technical skill.

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Final note

Frontend growth at Terra is contextual and non-linear.
Taking a step back when entering a new project, stack, or responsibility level is a normal and healthy part of becoming a strong frontend engineer.