Engineering & Software Domain Expert
Mercor
About this opportunity
**Bay Area, California only.** This is a hybrid role and you must already live in the Bay Area and work on-site with the client's team multiple days a week. It is not remote.
Mercor lists this role for a leading AI lab's research and program-management teams. Your engineering expertise is the substance of the job: you review the quality of engineering knowledge-work tasks, write the instruction specs and golden solutions that define "correct", and build benchmarks that show whether the model is improving. They want a practising specialist rather than a generalist.
What the work involves
Who is behind it
Required qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or higher in computer science, software engineering or a closely related discipline (MS or PhD strongly preferred).
- 4+ years of substantive professional engineering practice shipping production software or engineered systems at a reputable organisation. Internships and coursework alone do not count.
- Genuine specialisation in at least one area, for example distributed systems and backend infrastructure, security and cryptography, embedded and firmware, ML systems, developer tooling and platform engineering, or quality and test engineering.
- Progression to a senior level (Senior, Staff, Principal, Architect or Engineering Lead) with real ownership of design decisions.
- Hands-on use of large language models in your work, and the judgement to tell a well-reasoned answer from a plausible wrong one.
- Preferred: a visible record of engineering output (shipped systems, patents, open source, published work).
- Excellent written communication.
Skills
- software engineering
- distributed systems
- security
- machine learning systems
- developer tooling
- quality engineering
- technical writing
- code review
- model evaluation
- benchmark design
Eligibility requirements
- **You must live in the Bay Area, California** and be able to work on-site with the client's team multiple days each week when required.
- Candidates elsewhere must be willing to relocate at their own cost before the engagement starts; Mercor says relocation assistance is not provided.
- Able to commit 40 hours a week for an initial engagement of 6 months.
What to expect
- Full-time: 40 hours a week for an initial 6 months, W-2 through Cincinnatus LLC.
- Hybrid on-site work in the Bay Area, using the client's tools and equipment.
- Pay listed by Mercor at $65–$105 per hour.
Application preparation guide
How to prepare: Engineering & Software Domain Expert
Before you apply
- Open the Mercor listing and read it in full. This summary may be out of date.
- Confirm you meet the location and hours requirements.
- Check the location requirement first. If you do not already live in the Bay Area, this role is only realistic if you are prepared to relocate at your own cost.
- Choose one specialisation and prepare to show senior-level ownership: systems you designed, trade-offs you decided, and where your work shipped.
- Keep an up-to-date CV or LinkedIn profile ready, and any work you are allowed to share.
What to expect
Mercor and the AI lab decide who is selected, and how. Applying through this page does not guarantee a response, an interview or an offer. Check the pay and engagement terms on the listing itself before you accept anything.
Staying safe
A genuine listing never asks you to pay to apply or to share banking or ID details up front.
Guide last updated Oct 4, 2026.
The provider makes every selection decision. Applying through this page does not guarantee a response, an offer, or any earnings. Details can change on the provider's side after we verify them, so confirm on their site.