3% of children are autistic. 30% of them at age 9 remain minimally verbal: a handful of single words, never put together into a sentence. If that evokes something in you beyond the number, read on.
The Kasari Lab at UCLA, one of the top autism research groups in the world, has developed a play-based intervention that helps minimally verbal autistic children. Over 24 weeks, many make real gains in communication and social connection. But it combines assistive tech setup with play improvisation, which makes it challenging to deliver, and it is not standard practice.
You would build Visual Play, an app that takes pieces of this intervention (and others) and makes them easier for regular clinicians to do while playing with a child. You'd be embedded in the lab from day one, paired with an implementation lead who spends their weeks with clinicians. You'd own the app end to end.
Visual Play is funded by an NIH SBIR award to SKIES, a small Pasadena company started by Caltech alums. We make Visual Choices, one of the most-used communication apps for early communicators. This is a six-month Phase I; if the prototype works, Phase II follows, and so does the product.
An ideal candidate
- is comfortable being close to, and taking feedback from, researchers and clinicians
- has shipped real native iOS apps
- uses AI as a force multiplier, but understands the code it produces and is not dependent on it
- builds large and complex, yet maintainable, systems
- is resourceful, motivated, and tenacious
- is a calm, respectful presence in a research lab
In person at UCLA, five days a week. Starting January 2027. The interview includes a 60-minute collaborative coding session, no AI assistants.
More: Contact: julius@skieslearn.com