GamesGrid

Careers at GamesGrid

GamesGrid is rebuilding one of the most-loved online backgammon platforms of the 1990s and 2000s as a modern, integrity-first product for a new generation of players. The team is small, the technical surface is interesting, and the people who join early shape what the platform becomes. This page sets out what we hire for and what to expect.

For the company background see the history page. For the product direction see the homepage.

What We Hire For

The team is built around four functional areas. Specific open roles are listed on this page when active, with the hiring channel for each.

Engineering

Backend engineers (game server, real-time multiplayer, RNG and audit infrastructure, rating systems), frontend engineers (browser-first game client, mobile-responsive UI, eventual native apps), and platform engineers (infrastructure, CI/CD, observability). The technical environment is modern, the codebase is greenfield, and the problems are substantive — running a real-time competitive game server with auditable integrity is a non-trivial engineering challenge.

AI / Bot Engineering

The bot pipeline is one of the platform's signature features. Roles in this area involve neural network design and training (descended from the TD-Gammon → GNUbg → XG lineage covered on Bots & AI), bot personality systems, opponent matchmaking and skill-ladder calibration, and post-match analysis tooling. Strong overlap with reinforcement learning, classical game theory, and competitive backgammon as a domain.

Community Operations

Sysop coordination, moderation, dispute resolution, anti-cheat investigation, tournament operations. The community-facing role behind the community standards. Domain knowledge of competitive backgammon is a strong plus.

Product, Design, & Editorial

Product design (game-client UX, the dashboard, the analyst tools), brand and visual design, and editorial work on the platform's content — the encyclopedia, the strategy library, the tournament coverage. Strong backgammon literacy is valuable here.

How We Hire

GamesGrid's hiring process is structured around demonstrating capability rather than performing under interview pressure. The typical sequence:

  1. Initial conversation — a 30-minute call to discuss the role, the company stage, and your interest.
  2. Work sample — for engineering and AI roles, a take-home exercise or open-ended portfolio review; for community operations and editorial roles, a paid trial assignment or worked-example task.
  3. Deep-dive interview — 60–90 minutes with the relevant team lead, focused on the actual problems the role would tackle.
  4. Team conversations — short calls with two or three people you would work directly with.
  5. Reference and decision — the standard final-stage steps.

Total elapsed time for a typical hire is 2–4 weeks. We commit to keeping candidates informed throughout — no silent rejections, no indefinite "we'll get back to you."

What We're Looking For (And Not)

We hire for substantive expertise in the role plus genuine interest in competitive backgammon as a domain. The platform exists because the people building it care about the game. We are not looking for generalists who happen to be available; we are looking for people who would be excited to work on this specific problem.

We are also explicitly not looking for:

Working Style

Remote-friendly, asynchronous-first, with regular team gatherings for the core engineering and product work. The team is currently distributed across multiple time zones. We work in week-long iterations with clear weekly outputs and minimal meeting load.

Open Roles

[Open role listings — to be populated when active. Currently the team is small and hiring is selective. If your background fits the categories above and you are interested in the platform, send a note through the contact page under "partnerships" or "general inquiries" with your CV and a few paragraphs on what you'd want to work on.]

See Also