Backend Software Engineer: Python
Hourly Contract | Remote | $80 –$120 per hour
1. About the Role
Mercor is hiring experienced Python Engineers to support high-impact research collaborations with leading AI labs. In this role, you will help improve AI systems by expanding coding benchmarks that mirror real-world software development across diverse languages, frameworks, and engineering workflows.
This is a unique opportunity to apply your backend engineering expertise toward shaping the next generation of intelligent systems used by top research organizations.
2. Key Responsibilities
• Develop and validate Python coding benchmarks by curating issues, solutions, and test suites from real-world repositories
• Ensure benchmark tasks include robust unit and integration tests for verification
• Maintain consistency, quality, and scalability across benchmark distributions
• Provide structured feedback on solution accuracy, clarity, and efficiency
• Debug, optimize, and document benchmark code for reliability and reproducibility
3. Ideal Qualifications
• 3–10 years of experience as a backend engineer, ML engineer, or applied data scientist
• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field
• Strong proficiency in Python
• Experience with debugging, testing, validation, and code review
• Comfortable with technical documentation and detail-oriented workflows
4. Project Timeline
• Start Date: Immediate
• Duration: 1 month
• Commitment: Part-time (15–20 hours/week)
• Schedule: Fully remote and asynchronous — flexible working hours
5. Compensation & Contract
• $80 per hour plus lucrative per-task bonuses (1 task ≈ 1 hour of work)
• Median total compensation with bonuses: ~$200/hour
• Independent contractor engagement
• Daily payments via Stripe Connect
6. Application & Onboarding Process
• Upload your resume
• Complete a short AI interview (~15 minutes)
• Complete a brief coding assessment testing debugging and technical depth
• Receive follow-up communication regarding next steps and onboarding
⚡ PS: Mercor reviews applications daily. Please complete your interview and onboarding steps to be considered for this opportunity. ⚡
