Volunteer for a startup promoting fairer renting 🏠

Houstory

We empower renters with transparent, unit-specific landlord and housing histories to promote equitable renting.

Houstory addresses the systemic information black hole in the rental market, which creates immense anxiety and unfairness for renters, driven by lasting discriminatory practices like redlining and gentrification. Renters often lack reliable, unit-specific information, leading to insecure housing and a loss of community feeling. This challenge was identified through personal experiences in areas like Queens, New York, and among new hires in other regions.

The solution is a platform (app and website) designed to bring transparency to renting. Houstory delivers comprehensive insights into housing and landlord history, focusing on unit-specific details such as landlord responsiveness, maintenance issues, pests, and building violations. Drawing on a decade of HR experience, the core approach is people-centered to create a more trustworthy and equitable housing market where potential tenants have the necessary knowledge to secure safe and fair homes.

Role (Volunteer, unpaid): Backend Engineering Advisor

Role Description: We are seeking a Backend Engineering Advisor to provide technical leadership, architectural guidance, and strategic support for our core data engine and cloud infrastructure. In this volunteer role, you will work directly with our Founder & President to help shape scalable microservices, optimize NoSQL data models, and ensure cloud security best practices on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

This position is ideal for an experienced developer or software architect looking to apply their skills toward housing justice, civic technology, and tenant advocacy.

Key Responsibilities & Deliverables

• Architecture & System Design: Advise on backend microservice design, RESTful API structure, and serverless hosting options using Python 3 (Django) and TypeScript.
• Database & Data Pipeline Guidance: Offer strategic input on structuring, querying, and optimizing NoSQL databases in Firestore to handle high-volume municipal building records and violation scores efficiently.
• DevOps & Cloud Infrastructure: Provide code-level and strategic feedback on serverless deployments via Google Cloud Run, continuous integration (CI/CD) pipelines, and baseline API security parameters.
• Code Review & Quality Assurance: Review pull requests on GitHub, suggest refactoring strategies, and help set quality benchmarks for production code and technical documentation.
• AI Tool Integration: Share insights on incorporating AI coding workflows (Gemini, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code) to accelerate engineering efficiency and test case generation.

Qualifications & Expertise

• Languages & Frameworks: Hands-on experience or deep technical familiarity with Python 3 (Django/Flask) and TypeScript / JavaScript.
• Cloud & Data: Practical knowledge of Google Cloud Platform (specifically Cloud Run and Firestore) and NoSQL database architecture.
• Tooling: Proficiency with Git/GitHub workflows, REST API standards, and standard web security practices.
• Mission Alignment: Passionate about leveraging data and technology to create housing transparency.
• Bonus: Regional familiarity with DMV (DC/MD/VA) or NYC municipal datasets.

The Impact You Will Make

Your technical guidance will directly strengthen the data infrastructure that powers clear, objective housing scores for renters... leveling the playing field in the rental market and preventing families from moving into unsafe or litigious housing conditions.

Weekly Time Commitment

5–10 hours per week

Duration of the Role

3 Months (with option to extend based on mutual fit)

Time Commitment: Volunteer 4-6 hours per week for 3-5 months remotely.

️If you want to make change happen, apply to volunteer with Houstory!