Software Engineer (mfd) Backend & Applied AI Systems

Join the founding team behind an immersive AI-powered VR training platform

About iACT

iACT is an AI-powered immersive platform that helps international talent navigate social professional academic and administrative life in Germany through realistic interactive practice.

We have a functional prototype and are preparing for institutional pilots. We are looking for a backend and applied AI engineer who wants to shape the technical foundation of the product from an early stage.

The opportunity

This is not a standard salaried vacancy. You would join the prospective founding team and apply with us for the EXIST Business Start-up Grant. The commitment would begin only if the grant is approved. If approved the programme provides a 12-month full-time scholarship while the team develops the product and business.

Your role

• Own the backend and applied AI architecture connecting the Unity VR client with authentication databases speech services and LLM/RAG pipelines.
• Design secure REST and WebSocket APIs and define reliable client-server contracts with our Unity/VR developer.
• Implement authentication authorisation role management and GDPR-conscious data flows.
• Design and maintain data models for users sessions learning progress and application data.
• Integrate and orchestrate LLM RAG Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech services.
• Develop dialogue-state logic and systems for retrieving institution-specific knowledge.
• Optimise AI pipelines for latency reliability observability and cost.
• Support secure scalable cloud deployment and prepare the platform for institutional pilots and future commercial use.

What you bring

• A degree in Computer Science Software Engineering or a related field or equivalent professional experience.
• At least two years of hands-on backend development experience.
• Strong Python skills and experience with FastAPI Django or a comparable framework.
• Experience building REST and/or WebSocket services and working with databases such as PostgreSQL.
• A solid understanding of authentication authorisation API security and scalable backend design.
• Practical experience integrating LLM APIs and/or RAG systems into real applications.
• Comfort designing systems for real-time or interactive clients.
• English proficiency at B1 level or higher
• Based in Germany or willing to relocate and available for a full-time commitment if the grant is approved.

Nice to have

• Experience with vector databases embeddings and production RAG pipelines.
• Experience integrating Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech services.
• Docker and cloud deployment experience with AWS Azure GCP Hetzner or similar.
• Knowledge of GDPR and privacy-by-design principles.
• Experience with C#/.NET Unity integrations VR/XR or other real-time interactive applications.

What we offer

• Ownership of the backend and applied AI architecture from prototype to pilot.
• A small founder-led team with substantial influence over technical direction and product decisions.
• Flexible working hours and a high degree of creative freedom.
• If the EXIST application is approved a 12-month monthly scholarship of 3000 for doctorate holders 2500 for university graduates 2000 for team members with vocational qualifications or 1000 for students plus 150 per child.
• If approved the project may also receive up to 30000 in material funding for a team and 5000 for coaching.
• Following the funding phase the opportunity to discuss a long-term Co-Founder/CTO role with equity subject to mutual fit and a separate agreement.

Important funding conditions

The position and scholarship are contingent on approval of the EXIST application. EXIST supports teams of up to three people and individual eligibility depends on the programmes current rules. We will review eligibility with shortlisted candidates before moving forward.

If youre excited about building the technical backbone of a product that helps people integrate and thrive in a new country wed love to hear from you.

Send your CV GitHub/GitLab profile or portfolio and a short note on why youd like to build this with us to:

Zeinab Rahimi

E-Mail: