Full-Stack Developer / Technical Partner Needed for AI-Powered Learning Platform

Project Overview I am looking for a skilled full-stack developer to help build a modern AI-powered chemical engineering learning platform for The ChemEng Student. The ChemEng Student is an existing online chemical engineering education brand with a live WordPress/Tutor LMS website, existing course content, blog traffic, YouTube-linked lessons, tutorial questions, worked solutions, simulations, and a growing student community. The current website is built on WordPress/Tutor LMS, but the long-term goal is to move beyond a traditional LMS and build a modern SaaS-style learning platform with personalised learning, AI tutoring, structured practice, progress tracking, skills development, and future graduate/corporate training pathways. This is not intended to be a simple WordPress redesign or a basic course website. The goal is to build the foundations of a serious, scalable EdTech platform. What We Are Building The platform will initially focus on chemical engineering students, but should be built with the longer-term vision in mind. The full platform will include: • Student dashboard • Personalised learning paths • Subject/module/lesson structure • Lesson pages with video, learning objectives, equations, common mistakes and checkpoints • Practice question system • Worked solution system • AI Tutor • Progress tracking • Weak-topic detection • Skills tracking / Skills Passport • Simulations / Engineering Lab • Assignments and AI feedback • Career and interview support • Admin/course builder • Subscription/access control • Blog/public content migration in the future • Potential future graduate academy • Potential future corporate training dashboard The platform should feel modern, clean, and personalised — more like a SaaS learning product than a traditional LMS. My Role in the Project I will be actively supporting the build and taking responsibility for the educational and curriculum side of the platform. I will provide and develop: • Curriculum structure • Course content • Lesson metadata • PowerPoint lesson files • YouTube video links • Tutorial questions • Worked solutions • Quizzes • Skills mapping • Learning paths • AI tutor training material • Access-level decisions • Blog/content exports • Existing WordPress data where needed • Testing from the education/product side I already have a detailed curriculum metadata structure prepared in Excel, and I will continue developing the content bank alongside the technical build. The developer is not expected to create the chemical engineering content. The developer’s role is to build the technical platform, database, front-end interface, user flows, security, logic, admin tools, and integration foundations so that the content and AI tutor can operate properly. Preferred Technical Direction I am currently considering a stack based around: • Next.js / React • TypeScript • Tailwind CSS • Supabase • PostgreSQL • Supabase Auth • Supabase Row Level Security • Supabase Storage • Stripe Billing • Vercel • OpenAI API / AI Tutor integration • Antigravity or another AI-assisted coding workflow I am open to technical recommendations from the developer, provided the stack is modern, secure, scalable, and suitable for a founder-led SaaS build. I am particularly interested in someone who can advise honestly on architecture and help avoid building something fragile or difficult to scale. Key Platform Requirements 1. Authentication and User Accounts The platform will need: • Sign up • Login • Logout • Password reset • User profiles • Protected app routes • Admin roles • Subscription/access-based permissions • Secure handling of user data Security is extremely important. Users must only be able to access their own data. 2. Student Dashboard The platform should include a modern student dashboard with widgets such as: • Continue learning • Weekly progress • Study streak • Today’s goals • Weak topics • Recent activity • Skills progress • AI tutor quick access • Recommended lessons • Practice reminders • Exam/career readiness indicators The dashboard should feel personalised and useful, not just a list of enrolled courses. This will become the core of the platform. We have mock-ups as a guide that can be shared. But open to enhancement of UI/UX. 3. Learn Section The learning area should support: • Subjects • Modules • Lessons • Learning paths • Recommended content • Browse by subject • Progress tracking • Locked/unlocked content • Lesson sequencing • Related questions and simulations The structure should be flexible enough to support both traditional course browsing and personalised learning pathways. Example structure: Subject → Module → Lesson → Practice Questions → Worked Solution → AI Tutor Support 4. Lesson Pages Each lesson page should be dynamic and database-driven. A lesson page may include: • Lesson title • Module/subject breadcrumb • Embedded YouTube video • Learning objectives • Key equations • Common mistakes • Short checkpoint question • Related practice questions • Related worked examples • Related simulation • AI Tutor helper • Mark complete button • Progress tracking I will provide the lesson videos, lesson data, learning objectives, equations, and supporting content. 5. Practice Question System The platform should include a structured practice/question system. Required features may include: • Practice question hub • Filtering by subject, topic, difficulty and skill • Question detail page • Hints • Answer submission • Worked solution reveal • Attempt history • Basic scoring • Topic/skill tracking • Weak-topic detection foundations The actual tutorial questions and solutions will be provided by me. 6. Admin / Course Builder I need an admin area where I can manage the platform content. This should ideally allow me to create and edit: • Subjects • Modules • Lessons • Video links • Lesson metadata • Learning objectives • Key equations • Common mistakes • Practice questions • Worked solutions • Skills • Quizzes • Resources • Learning paths • AI knowledge records • Access levels Ideally, the system should also support bulk import from CSV/Excel, as I am building a detailed curriculum metadata workbook. This is an important part of the project because I will be continuously adding and improving the curriculum data. 7. Database and Security The platform will require a well-structured database. Likely tables include: • profiles • plans • subscriptions • subjects • modules • lessons • skills • lesson_skills • questions • question_skills • lesson_progress • question_attempts • user_skill_progress • weak_topics • ai_conversations • ai_messages • ai_usage • resources • simulations • simulation_runs • assignments • assignment_submissions • certificates • blog_posts • admin/content management tables If using Supabase, Row Level Security must be implemented properly. Important security requirements: • RLS enabled on user-sensitive tables • Users can only access their own private records • Admin-only access for content management • No private keys exposed client-side • No service role key in the frontend • Secure file handling • Secure API routes • Clean separation between public content, authenticated user content, and admin functions 8. Access Control and Subscriptions The platform should support subscription/access levels. The initial student-facing plans are likely to be: • Free Preview • Student Plus • Student Pro The system should also be designed so future access types can be added, such as: • Graduate Academy • Corporate Training • Admin Examples of access logic: • Free users receive limited lessons, limited practice and limited AI access • Student Plus users receive full student learning content, AI tutor, practice questions and simulations • Student Pro users receive advanced AI support, assignment feedback, interview support and deeper analytics • Admin users can manage content and platform data Stripe Billing may be included depending on the agreed scope, or the system should at least be structured to support it cleanly. 9. AI Tutor Foundation A key part of the platform will be the AI Tutor. The AI Tutor should eventually support modes such as: • Explain a concept • Help solve a problem • Generate a practice question • Test me • Review my working • Give feedback on an answer • Help with interview preparation • Support lesson-specific questions The AI Tutor should be designed to use approved platform content, lesson summaries, worked examples, rubrics and knowledge records. I will help prepare the AI tutor content and training material. The developer should help implement the technical AI foundation, including: • AI chat interface • Conversation storage • Message history • Usage tracking • Mode selection • Lesson/question context • Safe API handling • Future-ready retrieval/RAG structure 10. Blog and WordPress Migration The current WordPress site contains existing blog articles and SEO value. I have exported the blog posts and can also provide the full WordPress/site backup if required. The platform should be designed so that blog/public content can later be migrated while preserving SEO, important URLs, metadata and images. This does not necessarily need to be completed immediately, but the architecture should allow for it. What I Will Provide I will provide: • Existing website reference • Brand direction • Platform/product vision • Curriculum metadata Excel template • Course structure • Lesson files • YouTube video links • Tutorial questions • Worked solutions • Quiz structures • Access-level logic • AI tutor knowledge material • Blog export files • WordPress/site backup files if needed • Ongoing product direction • User testing and educational validation I am not looking for someone to design the curriculum. I need someone to build the technical platform that allows the curriculum and AI system to function properly. What I Need From the Developer I am looking for someone who can: • Build a secure full-stack web application • Advise on the best technical architecture • Set up a scalable database • Implement authentication and user roles • Implement access control/subscription logic • Build a modern front-end UI • Build reusable components • Build dashboard, learn, lesson and practice flows • Build the admin/course builder • Set up AI Tutor integration foundations • Implement secure data access • Support deployment • Document the system clearly • Communicate well and work collaboratively I want to work closely with the developer. I will be contributing heavily to the product, content, curriculum and AI tutor side, so I am looking for someone who is comfortable working with a founder who is actively involved. Desired Experience Ideal experience includes: • Full-stack SaaS development • Next.js / React / TypeScript • Supabase or similar backend-as-a-service • PostgreSQL • Row Level Security / secure database design • Tailwind CSS • SaaS dashboard UI • Admin panel development • Stripe subscriptions • OpenAI API or other AI API integration • RAG / vector search familiarity • Vercel deployment • GitHub/version control • EdTech, LMS, content platforms or AI tools Bonus experience: • Antigravity, Cursor, Claude Code or AI-assisted development workflows • WordPress migration • Tutor LMS or LMS data migration • Content-heavy platforms • Educational technology platforms • Multi-role dashboards • Secure file/media handling Budget Initial estimated budget: up to $2,000 I appreciate that this is a substantial platform and that the budget is relatively lean for the full long-term vision. However, I will be contributing significantly to the project myself by handling the curriculum, content, metadata, AI tutor training material, product direction, testing and educational structure. The $2,000 figure should be treated as an initial estimate for getting the platform build underway and delivering a strong working foundation. I am open to sensible negotiation depending on: • Proposed scope • Developer experience • Development approach • Timeline • Quality of previous work • Whether we agree a phased build • Whether there is potential for a longer-term relationship Please be honest in your proposal about what you believe can be achieved within the budget and what should be phased. I would also be open to appointing a Technical Director Role to be part of the business as remuneration, with a share in the business for the right person. Longer-Term Opportunity This project has long-term potential. For the right person, there may be an opportunity to continue working on the platform beyond the initial build and potentially come on board in a more significant technical capacity, such as technical lead or technical director, depending on fit, contribution, trust, commitment and commercial progress. This is not guaranteed from the beginning, but I am open to discussing it with the right person. I am particularly interested in someone who sees the potential of the platform and wants to help shape it properly. Application Questions Please answer the following in your proposal: 1. Have you built a SaaS-style web application before? 2. Have you worked with Next.js, Supabase, PostgreSQL or similar technologies? 3. Have you implemented secure authentication and role-based access before? 4. Have you worked with Supabase Row Level Security or equivalent security policies? 5. How would you structure a platform like this from a database and architecture perspective? 6. Have you built admin/content management tools before? 7. Have you integrated Stripe subscriptions before? 8. Have you worked with OpenAI, Claude or RAG-style AI systems? 9. How would you approach this project given the initial estimated budget of £1,500? 10. What would you build first, and what would you phase for later? 11. Can you share examples of SaaS dashboards, EdTech platforms, LMS tools, admin panels or AI applications you have built? 12. Are you open to a longer-term relationship if the initial work goes well? Expected Deliverables Depending on the agreed scope and phasing, deliverables may include: • GitHub repository • Next.js/TypeScript application • Database schema • Supabase setup or agreed backend equivalent • Authentication system • Secure user roles and access policies • Student dashboard • Learn section • Lesson page system • Practice question system • Admin/course builder • Access-control system • AI Tutor foundation • Usage tracking foundation • Deployment setup • Documentation • Recommendations for future development phases Final Note I am not looking for someone to simply install a template, rebuild a WordPress site or create a basic LMS. I am building a modern AI-powered chemical engineering learning platform and need a technically strong developer who can help turn the vision into a secure, scalable product. The educational content, curriculum, metadata and AI tutor training material will be developed by me. I need someone who can lead or strongly support the technical build, advise on architecture, and help create a platform that can grow over time.