Software Engineer, Applied AI

Mercor

San Francisco (CA)

On-site

USD 130,000 - 500,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Bi-annual performance bonus

Generous equity grants

Relocation bonus up to $15k

Housing bonus up to $10k

Monthly meals stipend of $1.5k

Free Equinox membership

Monthly laundry reimbursement

Monthly wellness reimbursement

Health, dental, vision insurance

Job summary

Mercor is seeking a Software Engineer on Applied AI in San Francisco to build and deploy systems at the intersection of AI research and data delivery. You'll work closely with leading AI labs and contribute to infrastructure that accelerates cutting-edge research. The role emphasizes governance over technical execution and requires strong backend engineering skills, with a responsibility for prototypes and scalable data solutions. Competitive compensation ranges from $130K to $500K annually, along with generous benefits and bonuses.

Qualifications

Strong backend engineering fundamentals in modern programming languages like Python, Go, or Rust.
Experience with model training and inference.
Strong grounding in statistical analysis and experimental design.

Responsibilities

Build and operate scalable data pipelines for post-training workflows.
Prototype new data types, benchmarks, and evaluation frameworks.
Lead technical discussions with customers.

Skills

Backend engineering fundamentals

Statistical analysis

Model training and inference

Comfort with ambiguity

Tools

Python

Rust

Job description

About Mercor

Mercor is defining the future of work. We partner with leading AI labs and enterprises to provide the human intelligence essential to AI development. Our vast talent network trains frontier AI models in the same way teachers teach students: by sharing knowledge, experience, and context that can’t be captured in code alone. Today, more than 30,000 experts in our network collectively earn over $2 million a day.

Mercor is creating a new category of work where expertise powers AI advancement. Achieving this requires an ambitious, fast‑paced and deeply committed team. You’ll work alongside researchers, operators, and AI companies at the forefront of shaping the systems that are redefining society. Mercor is a profitable Series C company valued at $10 billion. We work in‑person five days a week in our San Francisco, NYC, or London offices.

About The Role

As a Software Engineer on Applied AI, you’ll build, deploy, and operate systems that sit directly between frontier AI research and data delivery. This is a high‑ownership, deeply technical role. You’ll work through ill‑defined problems, prototype quickly with researchers and customers, and take systems from early experiments to reliable, scalable production. You’ll own projects end‑to‑end: spanning requirements gathering, creating data creation pipelines, and improving model‑adjacent infrastructure, while partnering closely with frontier AI labs and Mercor’s internal teams to ship high‑impact applied AI solutions.

What You’ll Do

Partner closely with frontier AI labs to understand their data, post‑training, and evaluation needs
Build and operate scalable data pipelines for post‑training workflows and model evaluations
Design and build scalable systems for synthetic data generation and data quality, and work directly with customers to understand requirements and develop technical solutions
Prototype new data types, benchmarks, and evaluation frameworks
Lead technical discussions with customers

What Makes This Role Different

Direct frontier exposure. You’ll work closely with researchers at leading AI labs, building infrastructure that directly accelerates cutting‑edge research.
Coding + customer work. This role blends deep technical execution with customer interaction. Engineers who enjoy both building and communicating tend to thrive.

Day‑to‑Day

Fast‑moving, high‑ownership environment
Technically demanding, collaborative work
“Building the plane while flying it”
In‑person culture (SF, 181 Fremont)
Aligned with frontier research timelines

What We’re Looking For

Strong backend engineering fundamentals in a modern language (Python, Go, Rust, etc.)
Experience with model training and inference
Strong grounding in statistical analysis and experimental design for measuring model performance and improvements
Familiarity with evaluation methods for large language models
Comfort working through ambiguity and shipping iteratively

You’re Likely Someone Who

Enjoys ownership and customer‑facing problem solving
Thinks entrepreneurially and moves quickly
Balances speed with engineering rigor
Communicates clearly with technical and non‑technical users

Why Engineers Join

Direct exposure to frontier AI research
Real ownership and visible impact
Technical depth paired with human interaction
Fast feedback loops and high leverage
There are very few roles that combine this level of technical rigor, customer proximity, and research exposure.

Benefits