Backend Developer (Node.js / PostgreSQL / TypeScript)

About Dancify

Dancify is a mobile-first festival platform for the global social dance community. We help dancers discover events, connect with other dancers, verify festival access, and plan their festival experience.

Currently pre-launch with an existing community, waitlist, and pilot festivals being prepared.

This is the MVP build phase targeting the first pilot festival release within 13 weeks.

The Role

You will build major backend product features for Dancify’s MVP alongside a Backend Lead Developer and a separate React Native / Expo Mobile Developer.

The Backend Lead will own shared architecture, infrastructure, security, authorization, database governance, and production releases.

You will have direct ownership of agreed product modules, APIs, business logic, database queries, testing, and documentation.

This is an equity-first contractor role focused on fast implementation, independent feature ownership, collaboration, and milestone-based delivery.

Compensation includes milestone-linked vesting equity.

The role also includes a predefined deferred settlement cap of up to €4,000 EUR that may optionally be used in the future if the company secures funding or sufficient operating revenue.

Any future settlement remains entirely at company discretion and would only apply in exchange for reducing or repurchasing an agreed portion of vested equity.

Contractors are not co-founders and do not receive governance or voting rights.

What You Will Build

1. Node.js / Express APIs using TypeScript
2. Prisma/PostgreSQL feature schemas and queries
3. User and profile APIs
4. Public event discovery and filtering
5. Organizer event creation and management
6. Ticket/pass catalog and ticket-import workflows
7. Ticket attribution and supporting verification workflows
8. Matching queries and dancer filters
9. Connection requests, accept/decline flows, and cooldown logic
10. Festival Hub endpoints
11. Schedule CSV import and validation
12. Personal planner and My Day
13. Schedule conflict detection
14. Coordination tools for rides, roommates, stays, and meetups
15. Announcements
16. Organizer insights and reports
17. Moderation, reports, and blocking
18. Export and GDPR-related endpoints
19. Unit and integration tests
20. OpenAPI documentation and mobile integration support

Milestones and Equity Schedule

M1: Foundation
Deliverables:
Profile/account APIs, public discovery foundations, feature schemas, R2 workflow support, tests and API documentation
Weeks:
1-3
Equity Vesting:
0.25%

M2: Events & Tickets
Deliverables:
Event CRUD, discovery, pass catalog, ticket imports, attribution, organizer event APIs
Weeks:
4-6
Equity Vesting:
0.25%

M3: Matching & Connections
Deliverables:
Matching queries, filters, eligibility, connections, cooldowns and notification triggers
Weeks:
6-8
Equity Vesting:
0.35%

M4: Festival Hub & Planner
Deliverables:
Schedule import, Festival Hub, planner, coordination, announcements and organizer insights
Weeks:
8-11
Equity Vesting:
0.30%

M5: Staff & Launch
Deliverables:
Moderation, reporting, exports, GDPR endpoints, QA fixes and documentation
Weeks:
11-13
Equity Vesting:
0.10%

TOTAL:
Backend Developer ownership
13 weeks
1.25%

Requirements

1. 3+ years building backend applications
2. Strong TypeScript skills
3. Node.js / Express experience
4. Strong PostgreSQL fundamentals
5. Experience building REST APIs
6. Experience with relational database schemas and migrations
7. Comfortable implementing business logic from product requirements
8. Experience writing unit and integration tests
9. Comfortable with Git and pull-request workflows
10. Comfortable working under an agreed shared architecture
11. Able to coordinate API contracts with a mobile developer
12. Able to own features from implementation through staging
13. Self-directed and milestone-driven
14. Strong written English
15. Able to communicate blockers early

Strong Advantage

Experience with:
Prisma
Firebase
Google Cloud
Cloudflare R2 or S3-compatible storage
OpenAPI
Event platforms
Social applications
Matching systems
Scheduling
Ticketing

Intellectual Property & Ownership

All project-specific work produced under the engagement, including code, systems, documentation, database work, tests, and technical implementations, will be governed by Dancify’s written contractor and intellectual-property agreements.

Dancify owns and controls production repositories, cloud accounts, billing relationships, infrastructure, domains, and production credentials.

Contractors are not co-founders and do not receive governance rights, voting rights, or executive authority through equity compensation unless separately agreed in writing.

Application

Send:

1. Relevant GitHub or production code samples
2. Brief overview of Node.js / TypeScript projects you have shipped
3. Examples of PostgreSQL work you personally implemented
4. Brief overview of product features you personally owned
5. Your realistic weekly availability for the next 13 weeks
6. Confirmation of availability for a short technical trial

NDA will be signed before confidential technical details are shared.