Senior Machine Learning Engineer

Alignerr Corp.; New Zealand; Remote; NZD 147,000 - 295,000; Part time

Job summary

Alignerr is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to author high‑fidelity reasoning traces that teach LLMs to think step by step. This fully remote, flexible contract role offers 10–40 hours per week and independence to work on your own schedule.

You will design data strategies and review traces, shaping how models reason, plan, and use tools in complex tasks with a focus on rigorous documentation and scalable thinking.

Qualifications

• Experience in machine learning or AI research
• Ability to decompose problems into explicit steps
• Familiar with LLM evaluation methodologies and training pipelines
• Clear, precise technical writing of complex reasoning
• Detail-oriented and rigorous; self-directed and dependable

Responsibilities

• Author high-fidelity reasoning traces guiding LLM planning, tool use, and decision making
• Break down complex problems into clear, logical steps
• Review and refine traces from other contributors for quality and depth
• Design data strategies to help models navigate multi-step scenarios
• Provide architectural insights to improve handling of edge cases and failure modes
• Work independently and asynchronously on your own schedule

Skills

Machine learning

Technical writing

Independent work

Problem decomposition

RLHF

Tools

Tool-use frameworks

Chain-of-thought prompting

Agentic AI systems

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