Full-Stack Developer Needed to Complete & Launch a Next.js Movie Matching Web App (MovieMate)

We are looking for an experienced **Full-Stack Developer (Next.js + Firebase)** to help complete and launch a partially built web application called **MovieMate**. The project already has a functional frontend structure and core architecture, but several backend features and integrations still need to be implemented or completed. will share the code with shortlisted candidate. The app is a movie discovery and social matching platform where users can swipe movies, match with people with similar tastes, and chat with them. The existing codebase uses modern technologies and follows a good structure, but it needs an experienced developer to finalize missing functionality, improve security, and make it production-ready. --- **Current Tech Stack** * Next.js 14 (App Router) * React + TypeScript * TailwindCSS * Firebase (Auth + Firestore) * TMDB API for movie data * Twilio (planned for WhatsApp / OTP) * Framer Motion for UI animations --- **What Is Already Built** * Frontend UI pages and navigation * Movie browsing interface * Swipe-based movie feed * Basic chat interface * Firebase configuration * TMDB API integration * App routing and layout * Firestore setup files --- **Key Features of the App** * User authentication via OTP * Movie swiping / liking system * User taste matching * Match discovery * In-app chat between matched users * User profile management --- **What Needs To Be Completed / Fixed** 1. **Authentication System** * Implement OTP authentication using Twilio or Firebase. * Complete missing API endpoints: * `/api/send-otp` * `/api/verify-otp` * Ensure secure session management. 2. **Matching Algorithm** * Implement backend logic to match users based on movie preferences. * Store swipe data and calculate similarity between users. * Automatically create matches when similarity threshold is reached. 3. **Chat Backend** * Implement proper Firestore structure for messages and matches. * Ensure real-time messaging works reliably. * Add message validation and basic moderation. 4. **Firestore Security Rules** * Review and strengthen security rules. * Ensure users can only access their own data, matches, and messages. 5. **API Route Completion** * Complete missing API routes. * Add validation and error handling. * Secure environment variables and API keys. 6. **Performance Improvements** * Optimize movie API calls. * Add caching where appropriate. * Ensure smooth loading for movie feeds. 7. **Production Readiness** * Clean up unused code. * Improve error handling. * Ensure deployment readiness for Vercel or similar hosting. --- **Bonus Skills (Nice to Have)** * Experience with recommendation systems * Experience building social apps * Firebase scaling experience * UI/UX polish for mobile-first web apps