Software Engineer (Trajectory)

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Engineering • Hourly Contract • Remote • $70 to $130/hr

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Mercor is hiring experienced Software Engineers to support high-impact research collaborations with leading AI labs. Freelancers will contribute to building training datasets that improve AI model reasoning and problem-solving on real-world coding tasks.

This is a unique opportunity to apply your software engineering expertise toward shaping the next generation of intelligent systems.

About the Project

The Software Engineer (Trajectory) role is a remote internship position paying $70-$130/hr. It suits experienced professionals who want flexible, project-based AI work reviewed on a rolling basis. You collaborate directly with client teams on real deliverables that help train and evaluate next-generation AI systems, with no long-term commitment required.

• You’ll annotate frontier-model trajectories on SWE-bench-style tasks derived from real open-source repositories.
• Currently, closed-source models do not expose their internal reasoning traces, making it difficult to understand how LLMs approach problem-solving.
• To address this gap, you’ll reconstruct and annotate the reasoning portions of model trajectories-using your own problem-solving process and the full task context to infer and infill the underlying thought process at each step.

Key Responsibilities

• Review model-generated code trajectories on realistic software engineering tasks.
• Reconstruct chain-of-thought reasoning that explains each step of the solution process.
• Annotate decision points, debugging logic, and problem-solving strategies.
• Use full task context (codebase, issue descriptions, test cases) to infer plausible reasoning.
• Ensure annotations reflect realistic developer thought processes and technical accuracy.

Ideal Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in software engineering, with hands-on debugging and problem-solving in real codebases.
• Degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field (Bachelor’s minimum; advanced degree preferred).
• Strong proficiency in Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, or other common languages found in open-source projects.
• Familiarity with version control workflows (Git, PRs, issue tracking).
• Comfortable articulating technical reasoning in clear, structured writing.

Location Requirements

• Eligible countries: United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia

Project Timeline

• Start Date: Immediate
• Duration: 1-2 months
• Commitment: Part-time (15-25 hours/week, with flexibility up to 40 hours/week)

Application & Onboarding Process

• Upload your resume.
• Complete a short 15-minute AI interview covering your background, experience, and interest in the role.
• Receive follow-up communication within a few days with next steps and onboarding details.

Contract & Payment Terms

• You will be engaged as an independent contractor.
• Fully remote - complete work on your own schedule.
• Projects can be extended, shortened, or concluded early depending on needs and performance.
• Your work will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer or institution.
• Payments are weekly via Stripe or Wise based on services rendered.
• Note: Mercor is unable to support H1-B or STEM OPT candidates at this time.

We consider all qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics and provide reasonable accommodations upon request.