Job title: Contract Web Game Developer (HTML5 / Phaser, Next.js) Job type: Contract, Temporary
Pay: 25.00 to 45.00 USD per hour Location: Remote Schedule: Flexible, project-based
About HeartStamp HeartStamp is an AI-assisted greeting card platform built for Millennials and Gen Z. People design a card with us, and we print and mail it or deliver it as an interactive digital card. We are building an arcade of casual web games that users play during the short wait while a card image generates, tied to our in-app rewards system.
About the role We are hiring an experienced web game developer on contract to take simple, permissively licensed open-source games, restyle them into the HeartStamp brand, and integrate them as client-side components in our existing Next.js application. This is reskin and integration work, not original game design and not animation. We have already chosen the games and the open-source bases. You bring the craft to ship them well, fast, and mobile-first.
Responsibilities
- Restyle open-source web games (match 3, color sort, block-placement puzzle, trivia, word) into our brand while preserving the gameplay
- Integrate each as a client-side React component in Next.js, using dynamic import with server-side rendering disabled and clean mount and teardown
- Ensure each game is responsive and performs well on mobile browsers (iOS Safari, Android Chrome) and desktop
- Wire a score and milestone callback into our rewards and leaderboard endpoints, keeping scoring logic in the React layer
- Implement light save state with localStorage so players can resume after navigating away
- Verify the open-source license on every base used and flag anything that is not cleanly permissive
Requirements
- Strong JavaScript and TypeScript
- Real experience with HTML5 Canvas or Phaser
- Shipped web games or interactive web products you can demonstrate live in a browser
- Comfortable working inside an existing React and Next.js codebase
- A track record of building responsive, high-quality experiences on mobile web
- Clear written communication
Nice to have
- Experience with casual game genres (match 3, sort, block puzzle, trivia, word)
- Familiarity with calling APIs and passing a validated result for server-side scoring
- A strong sense of game feel
- Awareness of basic anti-cheat practices for reward-linked games
Not required
- Original game design from scratch
- 2D animation or character art
- Unity, Godot, or any desktop or Python game development. This role is web-native only.
How to apply Apply through Indeed, or reach us through the Careers section of our site. Please include:
- Portfolio and samples. Links to web games or interactive work, ideally something we can play in a browser right now. A strong portfolio goes a long way here.
- Similar games. If you have built or reskinned games in our genres (match 3, color sort, block puzzle, trivia, word), point us to them.
- References. One or two companies or clients you have worked with recently who can speak to your work.
- Tools, availability, and rate.
We are happy for this to be your side project. We can work around your hours as long as there is enough overlap with our team to stay in sync.
To stand out, include a short note on a game or interactive feature where you really sweated the game feel: what felt off, what you changed, and how you knew it landed, especially if the fix surprised you.
Shortlisted candidates will be paid for a small trial task before we commit.
Pay: $20.00 - $30.00 per hour
Work Location: Remote
