Fractional Parser Development Lead

Engagement: Independent contractor (SOW-based) (10–15 hrs/week initially) with equity and FT potential
Location: Remote (global candidates considered)
Stage: Early-stage / stealth

Status: Open for hire Q2 2026

About Ubu English

We’re building an AI-assisted ESL learning platform with integrated tutoring and grammar analysis capabilities, focused on intermediate-to-advanced learners. 

The Role

We’re looking for a senior linguistics / computational linguistics expert to lead early-stage parser development planning and—most importantly—provide clear intelligence about scope, resources, timeline, and technical risk. This is a strategic assessment engagement that directly informs our roadmap and build decisions.  You will assess the path from a detailed technical specification and supporting documents to a working parser, including an implementation plan, validation approach and initial prototype. 

Key Responsibilities

• Assess the scope and complexity of building a deterministic English parser
• Define a phased development pathway (simple → phrase-level → complex structures)
• Estimate resource requirements (team composition, timeline, tooling)
• Build an initial prototype for validation (limited scope; details under NDA)
• Produce a written assessment/report that supports funding and execution planning
• Work under strict IP/confidentiality boundaries
   

Must-Have Profile

• Strong background in formal syntax, computational linguistics, or grammar theory
• Experience designing systematic rule sets or linguistic frameworks
• Demonstrated ability to scope/estimate complex technical projects
• Comfortable working with symbolic logic and formal representations
• Strong systems thinking + structured documentation skills
• Able to bridge linguistics and engineering conversations
• Has worked directly with engineers to translate formal linguistic rules into implementable, testable systems 

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with parsing systems (rule-based or hybrid rule+ML)
• Familiarity with major grammar frameworks (e.g., dependency/constituency variants)
• Python prototyping ability
• EdTech / language-learning domain familiarity
• Prior fractional/advisory consulting experience
   

What Makes This Role Unique

This is not a “build the whole parser” role. It’s a time-boxed, high-leverage engagement to answer questions like:

• What’s the realistic timeline and critical path?
• What team do we need (and what skills are truly scarce)?
• What are the major technical risks and mitigations?
• What should we build first vs. defer?
   

Engagement Model (Typical)

Initial engagement: 10–15 hrs/week for ~3–4 months
Example deliverables:

• Scope assessment + phased plan (around Week 4)
• Resource requirements analysis (around Week 6)
• Initial prototype (Weeks 8–12)
• Final “intelligence report” with cost/timeline estimates (Weeks 12–16)
   

Contract Terms

 This is an independent contractor engagement and will be structured under a written Statement of Work (SOW) with defined deliverables.  

Hourly rate or retainer (based on experience) + equity potential. (Specific ranges discussed with qualified candidates under NDA.)

Next Steps

If you are interested and qualified for this position please complete the form below.  We will contact you if it feels like a good fit. Candidates will undergo a confidential screening and sign an NDA before detailed technical discussions.