Software Developer - AI Projects

Mercor; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 83,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking part-time software developers with 2–3 years of coding experience or graduate CS students to support a research project with an AI lab. You will work on real development tasks on your Mac to help benchmark and improve cutting-edge AI models.

The role offers a flexible 10–20 hour weekly commitment with an emphasis on narrating your processes and producing high-quality training data. Immediate start preferred.

Qualifications

• Own a MacBook or Mac with Apple Silicon or Intel, macOS 15+ required.
• Hands-on experience with one or more programming languages.
• Proficient with macOS developer tools: VS Code, Xcode, Terminal, Git.
• Pursuing or completed Masters, or 2-3 years relevant experience with Bachelor's.
• Ability to explain reasoning clearly.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Complete and narrate real software development tasks on Mac to create training data.
• Build, debug, refactor, and review code.
• Work 10-20 hours per week.
• Immediate start preferred.

Skills

Python

JavaScript/TypeScript

Swift

Java

Go

Education

Masters in CS (pursuing or completed)

Bachelor's degree

2-3 years relevant experience

Tools

VS Code

Xcode

Terminal

Git

Package managers

Job description

Role Overview:

Mercor is looking for software developers with 2-3 years of professional coding experience, or currently enrolled postgrad Computer Science students, to support a research project with a leading AI lab. You will work through real development workflows on your own Mac to help benchmark and improve cutting-edge AI models.

Qualifications:

• Required: You must own a MacBook or Mac with an Apple M-series chip or Intel processor, running macOS 15 or higher. Applicants without a Mac cannot be considered.

• Hands‑on experience with one or more programming languages (e.g., Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Swift, Java, Go)

• Comfortable with everyday developer tools on macOS such as VS Code, Xcode, Terminal, Git, and package managers

• Currently pursuing or recently completed Masters studies, or have 2-3 years of relevant experience + Bachelors from a prestigious institution

• Ability to clearly explain your reasoning while you work

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Job Details:

• Part‑time commitment of approximately 10-20 hours per week

• Responsibilities include completing and narrating real software development tasks (building, debugging, refactoring, reviewing code) on your Mac to create high‑quality training data for advanced AI models

• Clearly structured responsibilities without the high pressure typically found in internships or full‑time consulting roles

• Immediate start preferred