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Backend Developer

Host Guest
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About Host Guest


Host Guest is a U.S.-based housing platform created to help international students, out-of-state students, and cultural travelers feel at home in new places. We’re not Airbnb. We’re focused on connection, community, and safety—matching guests with verified host families in a way that feels thoughtful, human, and secure.
We’re currently preparing for launch, with our product fully built by a third-party offshore team. Now we’re ready to clean, improve, and take full control of the codebase so we can scale confidently.

 

About the Role

We’re hiring a Back-End Developer to help us level up our platform’s architecture and stability. This is a critical role. We already have a beautiful front-end and strong UI/UX design team, but our infrastructure needs structure, documentation, and real accountability.

You’ll be stepping into a live platform that has been built externally. We’re looking for someone who can:

  • Understand what’s working
  • Flag what’s not
  • And build what we actually need to launch smoothly this summer


This is not a hands-off, just-maintain-the-codebase role. You’ll collaborate directly with the product lead, project manager, and developers to make sure the platform is stable, scalable, and aligned with the experience our users deserve.

 

Compensation

  • This is a contract-based, remote, part-time developer role
  • Estimated time commitment: 10–15 hours/week (flexible scheduling)
  • $25–$40/hour (depending on experience)
  • OR fixed project-based fee ($1,500–$2,500) depending on scope, availability, and initial results
  • Payment structure is to be finalized after an initial scoping conversation with the founder

 

What You’ll Be Working On

  • Audit, clean, and optimize our existing back-end system
  • Improve API performance and communication between front and back-end
  • Restructure messy logic from offshore work, ensuring clarity and scalability
  • Collaborate on secure user authentication, host identity verification, messaging features, and payment flows
  • Support third-party integrations (calendar tools, Stripe or Authorize.net, ID verification)
  • Improve overall site speed, security, and logic for launch readiness
  • Communicate clearly with our startup team (Slack, weekly syncs, and Asana updates)

 

Tech Stack We Use

  • Node.js
  • Express
  • MongoDB
  • RESTful APIs
  • Firebase (some parts)
  • AWS (preferred for deployment)
  • GitHub

We are not locked into this stack. Your recommendations will be heard.

 

Qualifications

  • A back-end developer with 3–6 years of real experience
  • Someone who thrives in startup environments and can work with imperfect code
  • You know how to clean, fix, and build for scale—not just throw features together
  • You have a product mindset and know that performance and experience must align
  • You’re comfortable working part-time, remotely, and asynchronously with a team of interns and founders who are all building fast

 

Nice to Have

  • Experience integrating third-party tools (Stripe, Auth, chat, calendar)
  • Familiarity with Firebase and AWS
  • Comfort working with front-end teams (our UI is handled in-house)
  • Startup experience or early-stage MVP launch experience

 

Why This Role Matters
Host Guest is not a content brand. It’s a platform. If the tech doesn’t work, nothing else will matter—not PR, not outreach, not marketing. You’ll be helping us move from a functioning product to a reliable, scalable platform.
This is an urgent need. We’re launching in August, and your work will shape the user experience, business success, and operational stability of everything we’ve been building