Software Engineer, Applied AI
About Mercor
Mercor is at the intersection of labor markets and AI research. 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 new San Francisco headquarters.
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
Generous equity (4-year vest)
$20K relocation bonus
$10K housing bonus (within 0.5 miles)
$1K monthly meal stipend
Free Equinox membership
Health insurance