AI-Powered Educational Assistant Developer; Part-Time

Job Description Position Summary

The Department of Computer Information Systems at Colorado State University is seeking a motivated and technically skilled Non-Student Hourly Employee to support the development of an AI-powered educational assistant for programming and cybersecurity courses. This position provides an opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI technologies, including large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), semantic search, cloud deployment, and learning management system integration.

The successful candidate will collaborate closely with faculty to design, implement, test, and maintain secure and privacy-aware AI systems that enhance student learning while supporting academic integrity.

Hours:

8 hours per week

Anticipated

Start Date:

September 15, 2026

End Date:
December 31, 2026

Work Schedule:

Flexible, coordinated with the project supervisor

• Develop and enhance an AI-powered educational assistant using Python and modern AI frameworks.
• Process and ingest course materials (lecture slides, textbooks, PDFs, assignments, and programming examples) for semantic search and retrieval.
• Implement and maintain vector databases and embedding pipelines (e.g., FAISS, ChromaDB).
• Develop and improve user interfaces using Gradio, Flask, or other web technologies.
• Build and maintain logging, analytics, and confidence-based response evaluation using Firebase.
• Integrate the system with Canvas LMS and CSU authentication services.
• Test, debug, document, and maintain the software throughout development.
• Ensure compliance with data privacy, security, and academic integrity requirements.
• Fine-tune open-source LLMs (e.g., Llama, Mistral, Gemma) using course-specific datasets.
• Develop hybrid AI architectures combining locally hosted models with cloud-based LLMs.
• Apply prompt engineering techniques to improve routing, response quality, and operational cost.
• Deploy and maintain AI services using Google Cloud Run, Compute Engine, Docker, and Firebase.
• Collaborate with faculty on feature development, evaluation, and continuous system improvement.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Software Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Strong Python programming skills.
• Experience with software development, APIs, databases, and object-oriented programming.
• Familiarity with machine learning, natural language processing, or large language models.
• Experience with AI frameworks such as Lang Chain, Llama Index, FAISS, ChromaDB, or similar technologies.
• Experience with web application development (Flask, FastAPI, Gradio, or equivalent).
• Familiarity with Firebase, SQLite, PostgreSQL, or similar database systems.
• Knowledge of prompt engineering and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
• Experience deploying applications using Docker and Google Cloud Platform is highly desirable.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and documentation skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple development tasks.

• Experience with one or more of the following is highly desirable:
  Fine-tuning LLMs using LoRA or QLoRA Google Cloud Platform (Cloud Run, Compute Engine, Firebase) Git/Git Hub collaborative development Cybersecurity concepts and secure software development Educational technology or learning management systems

• Work on an innovative AI project with real-world educational impact.
• Gain hands-on experience with modern AI technologies and cloud platforms.
• Collaborate directly with faculty on applied AI research.
• Flexible work schedule (8 hours per week).
• Opportunity to contribute to conference papers and scholarly publications.
• Build valuable experience in AI engineering, software architecture, and educational technology.

$15.16-$18.00

Colorado State University strives to provide a safe study, work, and living environment for its faculty, staff, volunteers and students. To support this environment and comply with applicable laws and regulations, CSU conducts background checks for the finalist before a final offer. The type of background check conducted varies by position and can include, but is not limited to, criminal history, sex offender registry, motor vehicle history, financial history, and/or education verification.

Background checks will also be conducted when required by law or contract and when, in the discretion of the University, it is reasonable and prudent to do so.

Colorado State…