AI System Developer - AD2921

University of St Andrews; St Andrews; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 38,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

USS Pension (14.5%)

Hybrid working

Staff discount

Staff parking

Carshare

Cycle to Work

Bus travel subsidy

Sports membership

Tuition reductions

LinkedIn Learning

Library access

Salary sacrifice

34 days annual leave + 5 holidays

Job summary

The University of St Andrews, School of Medicine, invites applications for an AI System Developer on a part-time, fixed-term basis. The role targets 7.25 hours per week for four months, with a salary of £32,080–£37,694 pro rata. The post supports a hybrid working environment, relocation assistance, and a range of staff benefits.

Start in October 2026 or as soon as possible. The successful candidate will adapt the in-house SimPatient platform, enabling FCR4 screening and scripted interventions,

Qualifications

• Good first degree in computer science, software engineering, data science or related discipline.
• Comfortable working within an existing codebase and with LLM or conversational-AI APIs.
• Experience in digital health or safeguarding features in conversational systems is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Adapt the SimPatient platform to a minimum viable product for patient-facing use.
• Encode the MiniAFTERc intervention as a conversational flow and refine prompts.
• Extend safeguarding behaviour for patient-facing risk and escalation messaging.
• Configure transcript and score logging, with version control, tests and documentation.

Skills

Software development

LLM integration

Data processing

Education

Science/Engineering degree

Tools

LLM APIs

Codebase familiarity

Job description

School of Medicine

St Andrews offers more than just a place to work it is a place to belong. We value collegiality, inclusion, and wellbeing, and we are committed to creating a workplace where staff can thrive and perform at their best.

In addition to the salary on offer for this position, there are a wide range of benefits for staff working at the University of St Andrews. The package for the AI System Developer includes:

• Financial contribution to relocation (subject to eligibility)
• Membership of the USS Pension Scheme with a generous employer contribution of 14.5%
• A hybrid working environment, including partial homeworking where appropriate and a range of family friendly policies, supporting work-life balance
• Staff discount scheme for local and national goods and services
• Free staff parking, employee Carshare and Cycle to Work Schemes and subsidised local bus travel
• Subsidised sports membership, reduced tuition fees on degree programmes for staff, access to training and development opportunities including LinkedIn Learning, access to library facilities, salary sacrifice scheme
• 34 Days Annual Leave plus 5 Public Holidays.

At St Andrews, equality, diversity, and inclusion are central to who we are and form a core pillar of our University Strategy. We are committed to creating a fair, inclusive and supportive workplace, reflected in our participation in national diversity charters and awards, including Athena Swan, Carer Positive and the Race Equality Charter.

We particularly welcome applications from people from Black, Asian, minority ethnic and minority religions backgrounds and from LGBTQ+ and disabled people

Closing Date: Monday 5 October 2026 Interview Date: Monday 12 October 2026

The primary duties will be to adapt an existing in-house platform (SimPatient) into the minimum viable product (MVP) that delivers the intervention. Specifically:

• Adapt the existing SimPatient platform for patient-facing use, so that it administers the FCR4 screening tool and triggers the scripted MiniAFTERc intervention above threshold.
• Encode the manualised MiniAFTERc intervention as a conversational flow, revising prompts and scripts in response to fidelity review.
• Extend the platform's safeguarding behaviour for patient-facing risk (e.g. suicidal ideation), including escalation messaging.
• Configure logging and export of transcripts and scores for the pilot analyses, and maintain version control, tests and documentation.

The successful applicant will have a good first degree in computer science, software engineering, data science or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience, and will be comfortable working within an existing codebase and with LLM or conversational-AI APIs. Experience of digital health, or of safeguarding features in conversational systems, is desirable.

Salary: £32,080 - £37,694 pro rata, per annum

Part Time: 7.25 hours per week

Fixed Term: 4 Months

Start Date: October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter