MERN Developer Needed to Upgrade Gift Store MVP

I have a “Gift Store” web app MVP built with the MERN stack. The current version has basic UI and product pages but no AI integration yet. I am looking for a MERN developer who can refactor, improve, and polish the app, and prepare it to work smoothly with an AI recommendation API.

The goal is an elegant, modern gift store where users enter details (gender, age, job, nationality) and receive recommended gifts from the AI system.

Responsibilities

Review the existing MERN codebase and suggest improvements to structure, performance, and maintainability.

Upgrade the UI/UX to look modern, clean, and responsive (desktop and mobile).

Implement or refine backend APIs (Node/Express) for products, users, and the AI recommendation endpoint.

Integrate with the AI API (provided by a separate AI developer) and handle loading states, errors, and results elegantly.

Optimize for performance (caching, pagination, image optimization) and basic security best practices.

What I Expect From You

Strong experience with React, Node.js/Express, MongoDB, and REST APIs.

A good eye for UI/UX and ability to implement clean, reusable components.

Comfort integrating third‑party or custom APIs into React frontends.

Clean Git practices and clear communication.

Important – Show Me Your Skill

In your proposal, include:

2–3 specific improvements you would make to my current Gift Store (for example: layout changes, component structure, routing, state management).

How you would design the page and flow where users input their info and see AI recommendations.

A rough 1–2 week plan (milestones) to refactor the MVP and integrate the AI endpoint.

Preferred Qualifications

Previous e‑commerce or dashboard projects in MERN (please share links or GitHub).

Experience with modern styling solutions (Tailwind CSS, styled‑components, etc.).

Experience working alongside backend/ML specialists.