Software Developer/Engineer

AI/Software Developer - Nursing Simulation Platform (Part-Time Contract, UT Austin)

About Project HAPINES

Project HAPINES (History and Physicals in Nursing Education Systems) is an AI-powered clinical simulation platform that teaches nurse practitioner students how to take a patient history, reason through differential diagnoses, and write competency-mapped assessments and plans - aligned to the AACN/NONPF Essentials. Built at UT Austin in partnership with CHITA (Center for Health Innovations and Technology Advancements), HAPINES is an online nursing simulation platform.

This position is funded through a Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Nursing Innovation Grant Program award. Contract renewal beyond each 3-month term is contingent on continued work.

The Role

We’re looking for a coding expert to work directly with our small research team to optimize and extend the HAPINES platform - someone who’s comfortable with both traditional software engineering and applied AI/LLM work, and who wants to build something real that’s already in use with students.

What You’ll Do

• Optimize performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency of the existing AI patient-simulation and grading engine
• Work with LLM APIs (e.g., Claude, OpenAI) to improve conversational realism, scoring consistency, and prompt reliability
• Improve and extend the faculty dashboard and competency-mapping/analytics features
• Debug, refactor, and document existing code as the platform scales to more students and institutions
• Collaborate closely with the PI, CHITA’s technical team, and other student developers on architecture and feature decisions
• Help evaluate hosting/infrastructure choices (AWS) for cost and performance

• Strong software engineering fundamentals - comfortable across backend, frontend, and databases
• Real experience working with LLM/AI APIs and prompt design, not just theoretical familiarity
• Ability to read and improve an existing codebase, not just build from scratch
• Self-directed - this is a small team; you’ll need to work well with limited day-to-day oversight
• Comfortable working within an academic/research environment and timeline

Nice to Have

• Experience with healthcare, EdTech, or simulation/training platforms
• Familiarity with FERPA or other student-data privacy considerations
• Experience with LMS integrations (Canvas, LTI) or SSO
• Interest in health professions education or nursing/clinical workflows

$100 - $150 an hour - Contract, Contract Details

• Hours: 8-12 hours/week
• Structure: Initial 3-month contract, with the option to renew in 3-month increments for up to 24 months total, contingent on performance
• Start date: September 15, 2026
• Compensation: $100-150/hour 8-12 hours/week
• Location: Remote-friendly; occasional availability for team check-ins with UT Austin-based collaborators via Zoom
• Reports to: Dr. Amanda Alvarado (PI)
• Funding source: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Nursing Innovation Grant Program
• Work product/IP: This is a work-for-hire arrangement - code and materials developed under this contract are owned by UT Austin and THECB, consistent with standard university and state-grant IP terms.