Applications engineer Jobs in Burnaby, BC

This Volunteer Placement is Located in: Lima, Peru

Start Date: January 2027

Placement Length: 5 months

Language Requirements: Spanish Level 4-Advanced

Please submit a Spanish Resume and Statement of Interest

Eligibility: Open to Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada only

The Volunteer’s Role

Are you passionate about Artificial Intelligence and eager to apply your skills where they can create lasting impact? Join Cuso International as a volunteer with CETEMIN, a leading technical education institution preparing the next generation of professionals for Peru's mining sector.

Working alongside local experts, you will help develop innovative AI-powered educational solutions, enhance intelligent learning tools, and strengthen local technical capacity through knowledge sharing. Your expertise will contribute to creating sustainable technology that improves teaching, learning, and workforce development.

This is a unique opportunity to combine cutting-edge AI with meaningful international development, collaborate across cultures, and help shape the future of technical education in Peru. Bring your AI expertise to a project that empowers people, strengthens institutions, and creates lasting change.

As a volunteer, you will:

• Technical assessment of the application: Review the current state of the AI application, its architecture, codebase, integrated models, and technical debt, identifying opportunities for improvement and development priorities.
• Development of new features: Design, code, and deploy new application features, including improvements to the user interface, interaction flows, and AI agent capabilities.
• Integration and optimization of language models: Improve the integration of language models (LLMs), fine-tune prompts, and implement RAG techniques or other strategies to enhance the quality and accuracy of the agent’s responses.
• Technology Transfer and Documentation: Prepare technical documentation for the system, train the internal team on application maintenance and evolution, and propose a technology roadmap for scaling.

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field

Essential Background:

• Experience in software development and programming (Python, JavaScript, or other relevant languages)
• Experience working with language model APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or others)
• Experience in database management and data structuring for AI systems
• Ability to document technical systems and transfer knowledge to non-specialized teams

Ready to make a lasting difference? Apply today to share your skills!

About Us

Cuso International (Cuso) is an international cooperation and development organization based in Canada that works to create social and economic opportunities for equity-deserving groups. Building on over sixty years of impactful work, we address global challenges by tackling the root causes of inequality. Working alongside our partners, we are focused on efforts to improve economic resilience, advance equity and inclusion for all, and deliver progress on climate action. We believe that by sharing skills, we can build better futures. Guided by our values of courage, inclusion, sustainability and accountability, Cuso combines innovative strategies and enduring partnerships to create lasting, meaningful change in communities across Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada.
Project: Sharing Canadian Expertise for Inclusive Development and Gender Equality (SHARE)

Partner: CETEMIN (Centro Tecnológico Minero del Perú)

Volunteer Support and Requirements

Support Package

Cuso International provides a comprehensive support package to ensure volunteers maintain a modest and healthy lifestyle aligned with local standards. This includes:

• Monthly living allowance
• Accommodation
• Health insurance (including required vaccinations and antimalarial medication)
• Round-trip airfare and visa/work permit costs
• Pre-placement, in-country and reintegration training (along with access to self-directed materials and online resources)
• Ongoing local support
• Access to the Employee Assistance Program during and after placement

Selection and Screening

If you are shortlisted, you will need to:

• Confirm passport or permanent resident details for travel
• Provide two professional references and one personal reference
• Complete a language assessment during the initial phone interview
• Pass a police check and medical clearance before departure
• Comply with anti-terrorism checks
• Agree to uphold the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) policy and Code of Conduct

Residency and Citizenship: Candidates are responsible for confirming how volunteering internationally may affect their citizenship or residency status. Canadian Permanent Residents should verify requirements with Immigration Canada before travel.

Inclusion and Accessibility: Cuso International welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds and equity-deserving groups. We provide reasonable accommodations throughout recruitment and placement. If you have accessibility needs, please contact us for support.

Ready to Make a Difference? Apply to volunteer today!