Software Engineer

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 f