Software Engineer (AI) Co-Op Position

Company Overview

We’re a university-based startup helping students with all things finances. We focus on securing grant/scholarship/bursary funding, then guide them with saving, budgeting, taxes, and planning for the future!

The Role

We're looking for a curious and motivated Engineering Co-Op Student to join our small but ambitious technical team.

You'll work alongside our CTO and product team to build the tools that power our national advisor network and student platform - with a special focus on building AI-powered tools and workflows that scale our impact.

This is a high-ownership role where your work goes live, fast. You'll contribute to AI automation tools, client-facing products, and brand-new AI features that help students and financial advisors work smarter, faster, and more confidently.

What You’ll Do

Depending on your skills and interests, you may:

  • Help design and build AI-assisted tools to automate advisor workflows, document prep, or scheduling

  • Contribute to AI features for students, like conversational planning assistants, smart grant finders, or financial education bots

  • Integrate large language models and fine-tuned systems into our internal and external apps

  • Build product features in TypeScript (React/Node), Python (FastAPI)

  • Support backend services, APIs, or infrastructure (we run on AWS/Kubernetes)

  • Collaborate with product, design, and operations teams to ship tools that actually get used

Why Join Us?

  • Build AI that matters - You won't just be playing with LLMs. You'll build real tools that help students navigate money and life.

  • Make a real impact - The average student we help gets over $3,000 in grants they would've missed.

  • Learn fast - You'll work directly with our CTO and have freedom to explore technical directions.

  • Startup culture - High ownership, direct feedback, low bureaucracy.

  • Perks - Reimbursements for tech and learning, flexible hours, and the best espresso machine on campus.

You'll Be a Great Fit If You:

  • Are currently enrolled in a Computer Science, Engineering, or related degree program

  • Have experience building real software projects (through school, work, or side projects)

  • Are excited about the future of AI, and want to work hands-on with real tools like OpenAI, LangChain, Pinecone, or fine-tuned open-source models

  • Have experience with (or want to learn) modern development tools like React, Node.js, Python, or Go

  • Enjoy solving open-ended problems, experimenting quickly, and shipping things that matter

  • Care about making tech more human - and believe financial literacy should be free

Nice to Have:

  • Past internship or co-op experience

  • Familiarity with tools like Hugging Face, OpenAI API, LangChain, or similar

  • Interest in fintech, personal finance, or building tools that educate

  • Experience with AWS, Docker, or Kubernetes

  • Contributions to open-source or personal side projects

Compensation:

$20 per hour. After a successful co-op/contract term, employees are invited to continue full-time to receive a salary!

How to Apply:

Send your résumé and cover letter to hiring@hifinance.ca with the subject: Software Engineer (AI) Application.

Successful candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Last Updated: September 2025