Software Developer, circular-construction AI (REON / SXL)

The Structural Xploration Lab (SXL) at EPFL is developing REON, an AI system that predicts the reuse value of building components before demolition, turning research validated on 23,200 real reuse-market transactions into a working product. We are looking for a software developer to help build the core of this product alongside the founder: taking a validated research prototype and turning it into a clean, working, deployable tool.

Main Duties And Responsibilities

• Extract and harden a scoring engine from an existing Python/Streamlit prototype into robust, standalone code
• Rebuild the data layer from Neo4j to a Python-native graph structure
• Implement data-ingestion and similarity-matching logic that completes missing component information (GNN)
• Build a lightweight web interface: data upload in, ranked results out
• Work independently from rough goals to working software, using modern tooling (including AI coding assistants) to move fast
• Keep the codebase clean and documented so it can be extended by others.

We are looking for a strong early-career Python developer who is interested in bringing a research prototype into a working product. The role combines graph data, ML, and practical web development. Some technologies may be learned during the project, but solid Python skills and hands-on experience with graphs and GNNs are essential.

• Degree in computer science, software engineering, data science, machine learning, or an equivalent field; recent graduates are welcome
• Strong Python skills and the ability to write clean, modular, tested, and documented code
• Hands-on experience with graph data structures and graph neural networks, gained through academic research, internships, professional work, or substantial personal projects
• Experience with machine-learning pipelines, including data preparation, model training or inference, and evaluation
• Interest in migrating an existing Neo4j model to a custom Python-native graph implementation
• Experience building at least one complete application beyond notebooks, including a backend API and a functional web interface
• Comfortable learning unfamiliar technologies and improving an existing prototype step by step
• Familiar with Git; experience with LLM workflows, Docker, or cloud deployment is an advantage
• Self-directed, pragmatic, and motivated by research-to-product development
• Valid Swiss work authorisation; holders of an S permit are welcome if authorised to work
• Fluent English; French or German is an advantage

• The chance to build the technical core of an EPFL spin-out in formation, in circular construction and AI
• Direct collaboration with the founder and real ownership of what you build
• A flexible, hands-on role with genuine impact
• For the right person, a possible path to a founding technical role at REON
• The starting date is flexible and can be agreed upon with the selected candidate

Activity Rate Min : 20.00

Activity Rate Max : 80.00

Contract Type: CDD

Duration: 2-4 months

Reference: 2351