Principal Python Engineer — ML Infrastructure

Alignerr Corp.; Sydney; Remote; AUD 99,000 - 198,000; Part time

Job summary

Alignerr is seeking a Principal Python Engineer for ML Infrastructure in Sydney. This is a fully remote hourly contract, offering 20-40 hours per week, designed for a seasoned engineer who thrives in high-performance, distributed environments and wants to work on impactful AI infrastructure projects.

You will design data pipelines, annotation tooling, and evaluation systems powering leading AI labs, collaborating with data, research, and engineering teams to support model training and evaluation

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional Python experience in large-scale infrastructure or platform engineering.
• Strong English communication skills and ability to explain complex topics clearly.
• Experience designing distributed computing systems and managing concurrency.
• Familiarity with Python internals, memory profiling, and performance optimization.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize high-performance Python systems powering AI data pipelines and evaluation workflows.
• Develop full-stack tooling and backend services for large-scale data annotation, validation, and quality control.
• Improve reliability, performance, and safety across production Python codebases.
• Identify bottlenecks and edge cases in data and system behavior, then implement scalable fixes.
• Collaborate with data, research, and engineering teams to support model training and evaluation workflows.
• Drive architectural and system design decisions through synchronous technical reviews.

Skills

Python

Distributed systems

Async patterns

Performance optimization

Memory profiling

GIL awareness

Architectural decisions

Communication

Job description

Principal Python Engineer - ML Infrastructure (AI Training)

What if your Python expertise could directly shape the infrastructure that powers the most advanced AI systems in the world? We're looking for a Principal Python Engineer in Sydney to design and build the data pipelines, annotation tooling, and evaluation systems that leading AI labs depend on - real production work with real impact at scale.

This is a fully remote, flexible contract role for a seasoned engineer who thrives in high-performance, distributed environments and wants to work on problems that genuinely matter.

• Organization: Alignerr
• Type: Hourly Contract
• Location: Remote
• Commitment: 20-40 hours/week

What You'll Do

• Design, build, and optimize high-performance Python systems that power AI data pipelines and evaluation workflows
• Develop full-stack tooling and backend services for large-scale data annotation, validation, and quality control
• Improve reliability, performance, and safety across production Python codebases
• Identify bottlenecks and edge cases in data and system behavior - then implement scalable, elegant fixes
• Collaborate with data, research, and engineering teams to support model training and evaluation workflows
• Drive architectural and system design decisions through synchronous technical reviews

Who You Are

• Native or fluent English speaker with strong written and verbal communication skills
• Senior full-stack developer with a strong systems programming background
• 5+ years of professional experience writing production Python for large-scale infrastructure or platform engineering
• Deep expertise in designing distributed computing systems and managing concurrency with advanced asynchronous patterns
• Intimately familiar with Python internals - GIL limitations, memory profiling, and performance optimization for compute-heavy workloads
• Able to drive technical strategy and architectural decisions clearly and confidently
• Available to commit 20-40 hours per week

Nice to Have

• Prior experience with data annotation, data quality, or model evaluation systems
• Familiarity with AI/ML workflows, model training pipelines, or benchmarking infrastructure
• Experience with distributed systems architecture or internal developer tooling

Why Join Us

• Work directly with leading AI research labs on production systems that shape next-generation models
• Fully remote and flexible - structure your work around your life, not the other way around
• Freelance autonomy with the substance of high-impact, technically demanding work
• Collaborate with top engineers and researchers on problems at the frontier of AI infrastructure
• Potential for ongoing engagement and expanded scope as projects grow