Over the past year or so I’ve been rather content with where I am professionally and haven’t looked for a new company to work for. That said, there once was a time when I considered seeking out companies for potential employment. Many of which I never approached but definitely had thought to on more then one occasion. The list below are, in my mind, some of the best companies to work for as a front-end developer / designer.

http://www.blitzagency.com/

Blitz has gone from creating amazing Flash experiences to adopting web standards and pushing the limits of Javascript, CSS, and HTML technologies. A leader in experience design and an overall bad-ass company that looks to be on the edge of being a house-hold name. Check out their video explaining why you should work there here (59 seconds of your time): http://www.blitzagency.com/careers/

http://f-i.com/

Fantasy Interactive, or F-i, is by far one of the leaders in front-end design and development. Having done with with the biggest names in the game (like Google, Nintendo, BMW, FOX etc.) they’ve stayed ahead of the curve by switching from a complete Flash dev shop to full Javascript, CSS and HTML (much like Blitz). Their UI work bleeds pixel perfection and oozes a love for design that’s hard to find. These guys are serious about what they do and it shows in each project they take on.

http://www.facebook.com/careers/life.php

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Facebook is one of those companies that most everyone thinks is either “over-rated” or should already be a no-brainer for the “great company to work for” category. So why am I pointing them out? Well, Facebook has reach. But more then that, they push their developers to use that reach in brand new innovative ways. With a young crew of engineers as co-workers there is no doubt that you’ll be influenced by and influence others if you’ve got the right skills. I can’t wait to see what comes out of the Facebook camp from all of their hack-a-thon’s. Wherever the RedBull and tequila shots are flowing you’re bound to see some mind-blowing stuff.

http://www.zurb.com/

Many people have never heard of Notable App or Zurb in general. Shame on you! This company is behind some of the best UX work I’ve seen in a long time (by far). They’ve got a team of experts that love their job and love users more. Matt Kelly, a developer and Interaction advocate, was one of the speakers at the last jQuery conference (and will be again in San Fran, sweeeet!). His talk,  ”Super Awesome Interactions with jQuery“, revealed just how in-depth Zurb understands its users and how it maps their experiences to tailer to them. If you’ve got a second, check out his talk and if you haven’t already gotten a Notable App account go get one!

http://blizzard.net/

OMG! Yes, Activision Blizzard is a company I think you should want to work for. Not because it was my dream growing up in the Starcraft / Diablo world that was the late 90′s early 00′s but because they’ve always had a reputation for amazing web experiences. For years now Blizzard has gone out of their way to bring their in-game designs and finesse to the web. Being one of the first to truly take their community seriously and provide social avenues tied with game related data. On top of all this, guess what? The make video games! This may be a pure geek fantasy but the fact you get to work at a game studio while still maintaining some of the best UX on the web is pretty rad. Their recent changes have also seen less Flash development and push to web standards like Javascript. Very attractive for any front-end dev.

http://teehanlax.com/

Last, but definitely not least, is Teehan + Lax. What’s that? You’ve never heard of this Toronto based company? That’s probably because you’ve been living in a bubble. If you think there aren’t great design and development agencies in Canada you’re wrong. Teehan + Lax has risen above much of the amateur hour work that has been associated with the mass agency phenomena. They’ve got the chops and have worked on some great UI. Focusing in on the front-end I hope to see more company related labs soon. Although not an unfamiliar territory for them I still see a good opportunity for them to turn out more in-house creations. That said, they’ve been busy developing the default iPhone & iPade Photoshop resources (the ones you should be using for any mobile design mockups), Image Spark which is an online moodboard creator and their latest, TweetMag that allows you to turn your Twitter feed into a magazine. Overall, they’ve got mad skills and should be recognized for the small details that they never forget to add.

Wrapping it up

Don’t be scarred to approach these companies even if they don’t have any job postings. If you’re talented, and them smart (which I believe they all are), then they won’t let you slip through the cracks. Far and away, these 6 companies would, most definitely, be on my short list if I ever went lookin’.