Robitics & AI Developer (Voice Interaction)

Company: SmartCare Technology

Location:
Flexible / Remote, with occasional meetings at our HKUST office when needed Commitment: Expected availability of at least 20 hours per week; exact arrangements to be discussed Compensation: Hourly rate to be agreed, paid monthly based on hours worked Email subject: Application for Part-Time Robotics & AI Developer (Voice Interaction) Email Address: justin.cheng@smartcare.hk jiaqiguo@smartcare.hk

About the Role
We are looking for a curious, proactive student to take a leading hands-on role in our robotics projects. Our initial focus is an intelligent voice companion built on commercially available UBTech robots, serving primarily Cantonese-speaking users, followed by English and Mandarin speakers. You will explore existing AI and speech solutions, evaluate open-source models, and turn promising approaches into working robot interactions. The work focuses on local model deployment, software integration, and practical engineering—not model training or fine-tuning. You will help evaluate the voice architecture and deployment hardware as the project develops. You do not need to arrive knowing every technology involved. We value sound problem-solving, willingness to learn, and the ability to use AI development tools effectively. You will work with a teammate and receive support from the team, while taking ownership of day-to-day technical progress. What You Will Do
• Evaluate existing AI and speech solutions, including end-to-end voice models and alternative voice interaction architectures, for a companion robot.
• Deploy and test open-source models locally, and help assess suitable computing hardware and deployment options.
• Integrate AI capabilities with UBTech robot SDKs and APIs, connecting voice conversations with supported robot actions and behaviours.
• Design and implement the engineering details needed for usable voice interaction, including conversation flow, interruptions, latency, and error recovery.
• Test interaction quality, responsiveness, and reliability, with particular attention to Cantonese and English use cases.
• Explore longer-term conversation memory where useful and feasible, as a potential extension to the core experience.
• Build prototypes, troubleshoot issues, and support robot demonstrations and project trials.
• Document key decisions, setup steps, and findings, and communicate progress and blockers clearly with the team. What We Are Looking For
• A current undergraduate or postgraduate student in Computer Science, Engineering, Robotics, AI, or a related discipline.
• A foundation in programming and some hands-on project experience. Coursework, personal projects, and team projects all count.
• An interest in robotics, conversational AI, and practical applications in companionship, healthcare, or elderly care.
• The ability to break unfamiliar problems into manageable steps, read documentation, experiment, and learn independently.
• A proactive approach to moving work forward, asking for help when needed, and following through on agreed tasks.
• Willingness to use AI coding tools such as Codex or Claude Code effectively, while understanding key implementation choices and testing the results.
• Clear communication and the ability to collaborate with a teammate while taking responsibility for your own work. Helpful, but Not Required You do not need experience in all—or most—of the areas below:
• Python, Linux, APIs, or deploying applications and models locally.
• Open-source language or speech models, voice agents, ASR, TTS, or real-time audio applications.
• Robot SDKs, ROS / ROS2, or other hardware–software integration projects.
• Evaluating model performance, debugging integrations, or improving application reliability.
• Cantonese proficiency, particularly for assessing naturalness and quality of voice interactions. English and Mandarin skills are also useful.
• Conversation memory or retrieval-based applications.