Software Engineering Contractor (Part-Time) - AI TEA Tool Development

Calcarea

Calcarea

Software Engineering, Data Science

California, USA · Los Angeles, CA, USA · Remote

Posted on May 30, 2026
About the RoleCalcarea is seeking a part-time software engineering contractor to build an AI-powered Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) tool to help solidify our product-market fit. Calcarea currently utilizes carbon capture economic models across multiple software platforms. To streamline our workflow and scale our impact, we are seeking to automate the integration of these models, allowing the team to deliver accurate estimates to customers—including shipowners, ship operators, and coastal industrial emitters (such as power, cement, and wastewater treatment plants). The contractor’s mission is to design the software architecture and develop a functional front-end interface that unifies these models into a single, automated workflow. This involves writing orchestration code to automate the data transfer between the engineering software and financial spreadsheets, while programming the integration of industry pricing methodologies. Because the TEA is being refined and updated by our engineering team, the candidate must remain flexible and work collaboratively to support this ongoing consolidation effort as the math and inputs evolve. The goal is to build a tool where anyone on the team, whether technical or not, can input key vessel or facility design parameters and ask questions through an AI prompt to receive CAPEX and OPEX retrofit estimates. By streamlining this process, the contractor will allow Calcarea to iterate with customers, partner with shipyards and engineering firms, and support Series A funding efforts. Upon completion of this project, there is potential for the contractor to expand into building our emissions data/monitoring collection platform, and contribute to the pilot plant commissioning efforts in the Port of Los Angeles, CA. Desired Skills• Experience with software such as Matlab, Excel, and Python.• Experience with databases accessible by multiple software platforms.• Experience creating LLM-based user interfaces to make regression-based models accessible to users from multiple backgrounds.• Experience with economic analysis methods (e.g., net present value, cost-benefit analysis, CAPEX and OPEX estimation, etc.).• Experience with the chemical engineering concepts of ‘mass and energy balances’ and ‘unit operations’. Logistics, Compensation & Next StepsThis position is structured as an initial 3-month part-time contract role with competitive hourly compensation. While the software engineering work offers remote flexibility, contributing to our physical pilot deployment at AltaSea in the Port of Los Angeles is expected as a secondary responsibility; therefore, candidates available for a hybrid arrangement in the LA area are preferred. If you are interested in building tools that accelerate decarbonization and want to gain practical startup experience, we encourage you to apply. Send your resume and cover letter to info@calcarea.com.