Senior Web Developer — Build the Public Face of an Inside-Led Justice Lab

The Project

We're building our new website from the ground up. We have a complete, finalized design (R3) ready to build — typography, color system, full sitemap, and desktop layouts for roughly nine page templates — plus an established technical stack we want the site to live within. This is a build-and-integrate role, not a greenfield platform decision.

What You'll Build

• Fully responsive implementations of ~9 page templates from our finalized R3 design
• A content model a small, non-technical team can confidently manage day-to-day — updating program pages, swapping images, and editing copy and impact stats without developer support
• Custom interactive elements: a contact form, embedded live map, FAQ accordions, image carousels, and an animated impact-stats section
• Newsletter signup (Mailchimp) and a donation CTA flow
• A News section that surfaces our Substack and links our press kit — no native blog required

Our Stack (and Why It Matters)

We already build and operate several apps on a shared stack, and we want the website to live inside it rather than become a separate island to maintain:

• Next.js on Vercel — where our other apps already run (gate-clearance tool, volunteer directory, impact dashboard)
• Supabase (Postgres) as our operational database
• GitHub for version control
• Cursor and Claude in our day-to-day development and content workflow

We have a strong preference for Next.js + a headless CMS (we've looked at Sanity and Payload — the latter can sit directly on our existing Supabase). We're open to your expertise on the CMS choice, but we're not looking to build on WordPress or stand up a platform disconnected from the above. If you believe a different approach serves a small nonprofit better, we want to hear your reasoning — long-term fit with our stack and team is a primary criterion.

How Collaboration Works

You'll work closely with incarcerated leaders at San Quentin and a small outside team. Most collaboration is asynchronous and structured: clear briefs, defined review cycles, and check-ins rather than constant oversight. Our inside leadership operates under facility constraints, so clear async communication matters.

What We're Looking For

• Production Next.js / React experience — you've shipped and maintained real sites on this stack
• Strong design fidelity — you translate Figma/PDF designs into pixel-accurate, responsive builds
• CMS architecture skills — you structure content types so non-technical staff can manage them easily, AND so they can be written to programmatically via API (we use AI tooling to help draft and populate content)
• Integration fluency — comfortable wiring up Mailchimp, Substack, an embedded map, and a donation flow
• Accessibility, performance, and SEO fundamentals — this is a public, fundraising-critical site
• Self-directed and communicative — comfortable owning a project end-to-end with check-ins rather than constant oversight
• Bonus: nonprofit or mission-driven clients, donation platform integration (Stripe or similar), or headless CMS + AI-assisted content workflows

Time Commitment

This is a project-based volunteer role aimed at a September 2026 launch, with flexibility built around your availability. You can focus on the initial build or continue supporting the site long-term.

Location

Associated Location