Special Instructions to Applicants: All interested applicants should attach a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application, preferably in a PDF format to avoid any formatting issues.

About Rice:

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lectures series, courses and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice’s culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name — RICE — Responsibility, Integrity, Community and Excellence.

Position Summary:

OpenStax (an initiative of Rice University) is the world’s largest non-profit publisher of open educational resources (OER) and a provider of interactive, research-informed learning technologies for high school and college. We are also the lead organization for the nation’s seminal education research infrastructure, SafeInsights. Our mission is to provide amazing learning experiences for every student and instructor. We do this by offering free access to high-quality digital teaching and learning resources that support the teaching and learning journey. Since 2012, OpenStax has created a library of more than 70 free and openly licensed college textbooks that have served millions of students across the globe, resulting in $2.98 billion in student savings. Currently, we are creating interactive, research-informed learning experiences that support heightened student engagement in the learning process. OpenStax seeks to become an organization that continuously strives to learn, reflect, and make actionable,better policies and practices for everyone at work and in education.

SafeInsights is a transformative national education research platform project led by Rice University and OpenStax, in collaboration with top edtech platforms and schools, SafeInsights is redefining the education research landscape by making powerful research accessible for a wide range of scientists, maximizing research’s potential to improve learning, and prioritizing the protection of student privacy.

In this position developers will work together with other developers and product stakeholders, evaluate product and technical requirements, collaborate on technical implementation plans, and write code to execute these plans.

In this position developers will work on a small team of 3-5 software developers exploring creation of LLM workflows that support internal operational efficiency, dynamic student learning experiences, instructional support tools, and learning research instrumentation. Work format will include proof-of-concept prototypes, dashboards/web applications for internal use, and subsystems for production products.

Ideal Candidate Statement:

The ideal candidate is an experienced software developer comfortable working on a fully remote, collaborative team and delivering sound technical solutions based on general product requirements. You must be able to rapidly prototype, evaluate, and implement solutions utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) and related AI/ML technologies. You thrive when translating complex, abstract goals into tangible, production-ready code. Success in this role requires a strong sense of ownership, a commitment to data privacy and ethical software practices, and the ability to work effectively with non-technical stakeholders.

Workplace Requirements:

This position is fully remote, permitting all tasks to be completed from any location within the United States. Working hours will remain central standard time. Per Rice policy 440 , work arrangements may be subject to change.

*Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

This position is benefits-eligible, term-limited and funded by a grant, soft and/or restricted funds. Continued employment is contingent on the renewal of funding. The appointment is anticipated to end on June 30, 2027.

Minimum Requirements:

Bachelor's Degree
- In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year for year basis may be substituted
Two or more (2+) years of experience in professional software development, data science, or related fields.

Skills:

Current knowledge of latest software and design standards
Ability to define and solve logical problems for technical applications
Knowledge of and ability to select, adapt, and effectively use a variety of programming methods
Ability to recognize and recommend needed changes in user and/or operations procedures
Basic knowledge of software engineering principles.
Strong knowledge of at least one programming language

Preferences:

Demonstrated experience building applications that leverage AI as a utility, specifically focusing on prompt engineering, multi-step processing pipelines, data classification, and generating structured outputs.
Strong full-stack development experience using modern web frameworks (e.g., React) and proficiency in TypeScript, JavaScript, and Python.
Expertise in scripting and automation using tools like Bash, Docker, Python, Ruby or JavaScript to create rapid prototypes, data manipulation scripts, and internal workflow tools.
Familiarity with foundational cloud services (e.g., AWS) or Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) principles is a plus, but not required.

Essential Functions:

Assesses user needs and requirements
Designs and develops applications that may involve sophisticated data manipulation
Works with a variety of users to gain information, and develop intra-system tradeoffs between different users, as necessary; interacts with a diverse client base and outside vendor contacts
Maintains and updates existing programs
Troubleshoots and solves technical problems
Creates programs to meet reporting and analysis needs
Designs and implements user and operations training programs
Provides production system support and issue resolution
Documents changes in software for end users
Follows team software development methodology
Serves as technical resource with respect to applications
Performs all other duties as assigned

Additional Functions

Collaborate closely with stakeholders to rapidly translate requirements and goals into functional technical specifications.
Actively research and maintain current knowledge of leading prompt engineering techniques, LLM model updates, LLM tools, and best practices concerning the use of LLMs.
Identify and fix issues within the tools and applications developed by the team in a timely manner.
Create clear and concise technical documentation for tools and applications developed by the team to ensure maintainability and team knowledge transfer.

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please contact Rice University’s Disability Resource Center at 713-348-5841 or adarice@rice.edu for support.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at jobs@rice.edu . Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.

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