Lead Frontend / Canvas Engineer

The Role

The galaxy map is the product. A hand-authored, node-based 2.5D/3D canvas — no React on the render layer, no framework abstractions between you and the pixels. Camera paths are cinematic and preset. Overlays for factions, fog, economy, and exploration all composite onto one stage. You own this canvas and everything that renders on it.

What You'll Do

• Architect and build the canvas-based galaxy map — the primary interface for all of LoTH
• Implement node-based camera movement with authored cinematic paths
• Build the overlay system — faction influence, fog-of-lore, fog-of-exploration, trade routes, anomalies, warp-slings
• Render clickable systems, planets, and points of interest with contextual panels
• Optimize for consistent performance across devices — the map must feel smooth on a laptop at a coffee shop and a desktop streaming to Twitch
• Integrate audio triggers, dice animations, and scene transitions into the canvas layer

Requirements

• 5+ years building high-performance canvas or WebGL applications
• Expert-level JavaScript — you write your own render loops, not import them
• Deep understanding of 2D/3D rendering pipelines, scene graphs, and spatial indexing
• Real-time experience. Games, simulations, or data visualization at scale
• You've built something in a browser that made people forget they were in a browser

Compensation

All positions include equity in Kuykendall Industries. Salaries are TBD and will be determined based on role scope, experience, and what you bring to the table — literally and figuratively.

The Builder Clause

We don't care where you went to school. We don't care if you went to school. Our founder is self-taught, started coding at 13, and built a 602,000-line cognitive architecture and a 420,000-word universe without a CS degree or a creative writing MFA.

Meet the qualifications, or show us what you've built. Either path works. Both paths demand excellence.

Apply

Ready to move? Send a short note of relevant proof-of-work — past shipped projects, metrics you moved, or a draft of your first 30 days.