Freelance Web Game Developer (HTML5 / Phaser, Next.js) at HeartStamp
Freelance Web Game Developer (HTML5 / Phaser, Next.js)
Job type: Contract Location: Remote, worldwide
Compensation: 20-35 USD per hour, depending on experience. Fixed-price proposals welcome as long as they make sense.
Experience: Mid to senior
Description
HeartStamp is an AI-assisted greeting card platform for Millennials and Gen Z. We are building a small arcade of casual games that users play during the short wait while their card image generates, and players earn back credits by finishing rounds and hitting bonuses.
We need an experienced web game developer to take simple, permissively licensed open-source games, restyle them into our brand, and integrate them into our existing Next.js app. This is reskin and integration work. We have already scoped the games and the open-source bases. The mechanics exist. Your job is to make a handful of them look like HeartStamp, run great on a phone, and plug into our credit and leaderboard system.
What you will do:
-Restyle open-source web games (match 3, color sort, block puzzle, trivia, word) into our look without breaking gameplay
-Integrate each as a client-side React component in Next.js, with dynamic import, SSR off, and clean teardown
-Make every game responsive and satisfying on mobile and desktop
-Wire a simple score and milestone callback to our rewards and leaderboard endpoints
-Add light save state with localStorage so players can resume
-Verify the license on every open-source base and flag anything that is not cleanly permissive
You are a fit if you write strong JavaScript and TypeScript, have shipped web games or interactive products you can show running live, and are comfortable inside an existing React and Next.js codebase. Not needed: original game design, animation, or any Unity, Godot, or Python work. This is web-native only.
Fast timeline. We want the first games live by the end of June, with room to keep going as the arcade grows. Strong candidates will be asked to do a small paid trial task.
How to apply
Contact us through Wellfound or visit the Careers section of our site. Please include:
-Portfolio and samples. Links to web games or interactive experiences you have built, ideally something we can play in a browser right now. Finished, polished work speaks loudest, a strong portfolio goes a long way here.
-Similar games. If you have built or reskinned games in the genres we are working in (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. The web game tools you use, your schedule, and your rate.
A note on schedule: 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.
*Application deadline: Friday June 8pm EST. We are looking to commence this role Monday June 8. *
HeartStamp is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds.