Back-End Software Engineer

About The Keep

Your base of operations for tabletop gaming. From home tables to conventions, The Keep brings event discovery, game scheduling and coordination, and community connection together. Everything you need to play more games in real life.

• Find Your Next Adventure. Discover conventions, store events, and local games near you.
• Manage Your Home Games. Make scheduling and organizing your home table easier.
• Stay Connected. Stay in touch with the players and GMs you meet along the way.

Role Summary

You'll craft the user-facing web and mobile applications that serve game masters, players, and organizers across the country. You'll translate product vision and UX designs into high-quality, performant applications that make event management feel effortless and community building feel natural.

You'll work directly with the CTO and collaborate with other engineers, Product Management, and UX to ship features weekly. Your work goes into production quickly and impacts real people organizing real events.

Tech Stack

• Web: React, Next.js (App Router), TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Shadcn/ui
• Forms and Validation: React Hook Form, Zod
• Auth: AWS Amplify (Cognito)
• Mobile: Flutter (increasingly important post-launch, with eventual feature parity)
• Deployment: Automated CI/CD pipelines deploying to AWS
• Collaboration: Git workflows with automated testing gates

Outcomes You'll Deliver

• Web Application Development. Build and maintain the primary web application using React and Next.js, implementing new features and user interfaces according to product specifications and UX designs.
• UX Implementation. Translate design mockups and specifications into pixel-perfect, responsive, and accessible user interfaces that work across browsers and devices.
• Component Architecture. Develop reusable, well-documented React components following established architectural patterns and best practices. Maintain a component library that enables the team to move quickly without accumulating technical debt.
• Mobile Application Development. Contribute to the Flutter mobile application, which will become increasingly important post-launch as the team works toward feature parity with the web platform.
• API Integration. Integrate front-end applications with backend APIs and real-time event streams, handling authentication, state management, and error scenarios gracefully.

Additional Deliverables

• Code Review and Collaboration. Participate in code reviews and provide constructive feedback to maintain code quality standards.
• Performance Optimization. Monitor and optimize frontend performance, including load times, bundle sizes, and runtime efficiency.
• Testing and Quality Assurance. Write and maintain tests to ensure application reliability. Automated test gates must pass before deployment.

Key Competencies

• Modern React Proficiency. Strong working knowledge of React hooks, context, state management patterns, and the Next.js framework.
• Architectural Pattern Recognition. Understand and consistently apply established frontend architectural patterns independently.
• Responsive and Accessible Design. Build interfaces that work across devices and meet accessibility standards (WCAG).
• Problem-Solving and Debugging. Diagnose issues, identify root causes, and implement solutions independently.
• Asynchronous Communication. Effective written communication and ability to coordinate with distributed team members.
• Version Control Collaboration. Proficiency with Git workflows, pull requests, and collaborative development across multiple repositories.

Experience

• 3+ years of professional experience building production React applications
• Experience with Next.js or similar React frameworks
• Experience integrating frontend applications with RESTful APIs
• Proven ability to translate design mockups into functional user interfaces
• Experience with modern CSS approaches (CSS-in-JS, Tailwind, CSS Modules, etc.)
• Working knowledge of TypeScript
• Experience with Git and collaborative development workflows

Bonus Points

• Flutter or React Native mobile development experience
• Experience with real-time data (WebSockets, Server-Sent Events, or similar)
• Familiarity with AWS services or cloud-native application development
• Early-stage startup or MVP product experience
• Background in event management, community platforms, or social applications
• Active participation in the TTRPG community. If you've rolled for initiative, organized a game night, or herded your friends like cats to the table, you understand what we're building and why it matters

Engagement Terms

• Classification: Independent Contractor (1099). Contractor is responsible for own taxes, insurance, equipment, and benefits.
• Term: Fixed initial term of 6 months. Renewal by mutual written agreement; not automatic.
• Hours: 30-40 hours per week, on-site in St. Paul, MN

The Keep does not discriminate in contractor engagement decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.