Senior Machine Learning Engineer

Alignerr; New Zealand; Remote; NZD 83,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote

Hourly contract

Flexible schedule

Job summary

Alignerr is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer (AI Data Trainer) to author advanced reasoning traces that teach LLMs to think step-by-step. This fully remote hourly contract role offers flexible hours (10–40 hours/week) and is ideal for experts who want to shape next-gen AI model reasoning.

You will break down complex problems, review traces, and design data strategies that guide multi-step decision making while working asynchronously on your own schedule.

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of machine learning and AI research principles.
• Ability to break down hard problems into explicit, checkable steps.
• Clear, precise technical writer with ability to document complex reasoning.

Responsibilities

• Author high-fidelity reasoning traces that guide how LLMs should plan and decide.
• Break down real-world problems into clear, structured decision steps.
• Review and refine traces from other contributors for quality and consistency.
• Design data strategies to help models navigate multi-step scenarios.
• Provide architectural insights to improve model handling of edge cases.
• Work independently and asynchronously on your schedule.

Skills

ML/AI expertise

Problem decomposition

Technical writing

LLM evaluation

RLHF pipelines

Self-directed

Job description

Senior Machine Learning Engineer (AI Data Trainer)

About The Role

What if your deep knowledge of machine learning could directly shape how the next generation of AI models reason, plan, and solve complex problems? We're looking for Senior Machine Learning Engineers to author high-fidelity reasoning traces that teach LLMs how to think — step by step, decision by decision.

This isn't prompt engineering or basic annotation. This is senior-level technical work that sits at the frontier of AI development. You'll be working directly with the kind of data that makes the difference between an AI that guesses and one that genuinely reasons.

This is a fully remote, flexible contract role — bring your expertise and work on your own terms.

• Organization: Alignerr
• Type: Hourly Contract
• Location: Remote
• Commitment: 10–40 hours/week

What You'll Do

• Author complex, high-fidelity reasoning traces that document how LLMs should plan, use tools, and make decisions across sophisticated technical tasks
• Break down intricate real‑world problems into clear, logical, well‑structured decision‑making steps
• Review and refine traces produced by other contributors, ensuring quality, consistency, and depth of reasoning
• Design data strategies that help AI models navigate multi‑step, ambiguous, and technically demanding scenarios
• Contribute architectural‑level insights to improve how models handle edge cases and failure modes
• Work independently and asynchronously — on your own schedule

Who You Are

• Experienced in machine learning, AI research, or a closely related technical field — you understand how models reason and where they go wrong
• Skilled at decomposing hard problems into explicit, logical, and well‑documented steps
• Familiar with LLM evaluation methodologies, training pipelines, or RLHF‑style feedback systems
• A clear, precise technical writer who can make complex reasoning legible and structured
• Detail‑oriented and rigorous — you hold your own work to a high standard
• Self‑directed and dependable when working independently

Nice to Have

• Prior experience with data annotation, data quality assurance, or evaluation system design
• Top‑tier Kaggle competition results (Grandmaster or Master level) — demonstrating deep expertise in model performance and feature engineering
• Hands‑on experience with agentic AI systems, tool‑use frameworks, or chain‑of‑thought prompting
• Background in AI safety, interpretability, or model alignment

Why Join Us

• Work at the frontier of AI — your contributions directly shape how advanced language models reason and behave
• Fully remote and flexible — work when and where it suits you, with no fixed hours
• Freelance autonomy with access to meaningful, intellectually stimulating work
• Collaborate with a global team contributing to some of the most consequential AI research happening today
• Potential for ongoing work and contract extension as new projects launch