Software Engineer Intern

Course Eater Project Role Type: Unpaid Student Developer Intern Duration: One academic quarter/semester (extensions permitted) Location: UC Irvine / Flexible Experience Level: Undergraduate Students Our PurposeCourse Eater is a project focused on making academic planning easier for students and counselors through software at UC Irvine. We are building toward a system capable of supporting tens of thousands of students. We are looking for an undergraduate student who wants to gain real production software engineering experience through an experience that can help them work toward their own career and technical goals. This internship is intentionally designed around your goals. Maybe you want to: Prepare for your first software engineering internshipBuild experience for a future full-time software engineering roleLearn how production software is actually developed and maintainedLearn system architecture and scalable softwareDevelop your DevOps and CI/CD skillsBecome a stronger full-stack developerLearn how security and privacy considerations affect real softwareGain experience working on a larger projectEventually build and scale your own project We'll work with you to help you move toward that goal while giving you meaningful engineering experience with the Course Eater team. What You'll DoDepending on your experience and goals, you may: Develop and maintain production featuresWork across frontend, backend, APIs, and databasesTake ownership of features from implementation through deploymentMaintain and improve existing codebasesInvestigate and resolve bugs and security discrepanciesThink through edge cases and potential unintended effects of changesParticipate in architectural discussions and propose improvementsWork with CI/CD pipelines and deployment infrastructureParticipate in code reviews and collaborative developmentWork across multiple repositories and interconnected systemsHelp improve the scalability and reliability of Course EaterCommunicate your progress, challenges, and technical decisions to the team What We're Looking ForRequired Qualifications: Currently enrolled as an undergraduate studentWillingness to learn and work in an existing codebaseStrong problem-solving and analytical thinkingAbility to communicate what you are working on and where you are stuckAbility to work collaboratively with a small engineering teamWillingness to take ownership of assigned workAbility to think about the broader effects of technical changes Preferred Qualifications: Experience with React, Vite, TypeScript, or TailwindExperience with Git/GitHub and collaborative developmentExposure to CI/CD pipelinesExposure to complex software architecturesExperience thinking about scalability and performanceExperience working with APIs and databasesFamiliarity with software security and access controlFamiliarity with FERPA or other privacy/compliance considerationsExperience working on a project intended to support a large number of users CommitmentThis is an unpaid internship opportunity through Course Eater. The commitment is one academic quarter/semester, with the opportunity to continue contributing to the project afterward. The internship is intended for students who are looking for meaningful engineering experience alongside their studies.