01
Queer by default.
This is not a DEI initiative — this is who we are. Our developers, designers, and advisors are LGBTQ+. We do not need to translate the community's needs because we live them.
Careers at Splashd
Build the appwe deservedall along.
We are a small, queer team building a gay app without paywalls, dark patterns, or selling your data. If that is the kind of work you want to be known for, keep reading.
- Team size
- 4 people
- Founded
- 2025
- Status
- Live now
- Location
- Remote first
The mission
Whythis app.
Legacy apps got comfortable. Paywalls for basic features, vague privacy policies, and no accountability to the community they profit from. We are building what should have existed a decade ago — and the people who build it matter enormously.
Splashd is out now on iOS and Android, worldwide. Zero cost for every feature the community actually uses.
Free. Actually free.
Every feature that matters — unlimited messages, live map, travel mode, voice notes, video calls — ships with zero paywalls. Grindr charges $24.99 a month for what we give away.
Private by design.
We never sell user data. Ever. Our business model is advertising and optional cosmetic upgrades — not monetising people's sexuality.
Community-led.
Built by LGBTQ+ developers who use apps like this. Features get shipped because the community asks for them, not because a subscription tier needs padding.
Real-time, not cached.
Live grid, live map, live venue check-ins. We know where the bar is at right now — not two hours ago. That takes real engineering. That is why we are hiring.
Culture and values
Howwe work.
Six principles that are not posters on a wall. They are how we actually run the team.
02
Ship with judgment.
We move fast, but we do not ship unsafe features. Trust and safety decisions are human-reviewed. Speed is no excuse for harm.
03
Async by default.
Remote-first means time zone-first. We document well, over-communicate, and do not expect you to be online 24/7. Meetings are a last resort.
04
No fiefdoms.
Everyone owns the whole product. An engineer can flag a UX problem. A designer can push back on a product decision. We fix the thing, not the blame.
05
Honest about the hard stuff.
We are a small team running a live product with big ambitions. Things will break. We will tell you when they do. You should tell us too.
06
Rest is part of the job.
We do not romanticise burnout. You will not get points for working weekends. The app we are building is supposed to improve people's lives — ours included.
Benefits
Perksthat are real.
Small team, live product. No inflated corporate perks theatre. What we offer is honest and actually funded.
Always
Remote-first
Work from anywhere in a compatible time zone. We do not have an office and we are not planning one.
Unlimited
Real PTO
Not unlimited-in-name. We track that people actually take it. Minimum two weeks a year, encouraged.
0.1 – 1%
Equity
Early-stage options with a standard four-year vest. You are building this — you should own a piece of it.
100% covered
LGBTQ+-affirming healthcare
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision. Gender-affirming care covered. Mental health parity — therapy sessions treated identically to any other appointment.
$1,500 / yr
Learning budget
Conferences, courses, certifications, books. Spend it on what actually develops you, not what looks good on a slide.
$150 / mo
Wellness stipend
Gym, therapy top-ups, wellness apps, massage — whatever keeps you balanced and doing your best work.
$1,000 once
Home office setup
Spend it on a monitor, chair, desk, headphones — whatever you need to work well at home.
Free, forever
Splashd Unlimited
Every employee gets Unlimited tier — the product you are shipping — on us, for as long as you are here.
Honest note: We are an early-stage, revenue-building team. Equity is real and vesting starts on day one. Cash salary is competitive for a small startup, not a Series C. If that tradeoff appeals to you — owning a piece of a live product with real upside — we are probably a good fit.
Open roles
Wherewe grow.
We are a small team running a live product. No formal positions are posted yet — we hire when the right person shows up for a real need. Here is where those needs are:
- Mobile EngineeringHiring as we growReact NativeExpoTypeScript
You will own the iOS and Android app that ships to real users. Real-time UI, complex animations, offline sync, push notifications, and a WebSocket layer that makes the live grid feel instant.
We are looking for- React Native or native iOS/Android, ideally both
- Strong opinions about performance and UX
- Experience shipping to the App Store or Google Play
- Backend EngineeringHiring as we growNode.jsFastifyPostgreSQLRedis
The engine behind real-time location, private messaging, moderation pipelines, and PostGIS geo-queries. If you like building systems that need to be both fast and safe, this is your role.
We are looking for- Node.js / TypeScript backend, REST or WebSocket APIs
- PostgreSQL with complex queries (PostGIS a bonus)
- Experience with BullMQ, Redis, or similar async infrastructure
- Product DesignHiring as we growFigmaPrototypingDesign Systems
Dating and cruising apps are notoriously bad at design. You will own the visual direction and the design system, shipping real components in Figma and collaborating directly on the native build.
We are looking for- Strong mobile-first product design portfolio
- Experience designing for social or dating products
- Comfortable translating designs to React Native with dev
- Trust & Safety / CommunityHiring as we growModerationPolicyCommunity
Queer spaces online can be unsafe. You will build the policies, tooling, and human review processes that make Splashd a space people trust. This role sits at the intersection of policy and product.
We are looking for- Trust & safety, content moderation, or community management background
- Experience writing and enforcing community standards
- Understanding of LGBTQ+ community dynamics and risks
Do not see your role?
If you care about what we are building and you are exceptional at what you do, pitch us. Seriously. We will remember good people when the right moment comes.
Interview process
Clear.No black holes.
We will not ghost you. We will not make you complete a 6-hour take-home for a first-round. And we will tell you the real reason if it is not a fit.
Total time from application to offer: typically 2 weeks.
- 01
Send us something real.
You → usEmail careers@splashd.app. A brief note on who you are and why Splashd specifically. Show us relevant work — a GitHub, a portfolio, a shipped product, a case study. No cover-letter template, please.
The candidates we remember are the ones who had clearly thought about the product before they wrote to us. - 02
A conversation, not a screen.
30 minOne video call. We will ask about your background and what you are looking to do. You should ask us hard questions — about the product, the team, what is broken, what we are worried about. That is how you decide if we are right for you.
No trick questions. No riddles. We want to understand how you think, not test your ability to perform under artificial pressure. - 03
Show us your work.
60 – 90 minEngineers: a focused technical session or a take-home you choose. Designers: a portfolio deep-dive plus a brief prompt to see how you frame a problem. Trust & Safety: a policy scenario discussion. We scope this tightly — we will not take more than 90 minutes of your time.
We care about how you approach problems, not whether you already know every answer. Talk us through your thinking. - 04
Meet the team, get an answer.
1 – 2 days afterA short call with one or two teammates. Then we decide fast — typically within 48 hours. If we make you an offer, we are open about the equity, the salary, and the expectations. No games, no exploding offers.
One bad call does not sink a candidacy. We look at the whole picture. Everyone has off moments — we have had them in interviews too.