Is this job worth applying to?

Pay

Below typicalTops out at $75/hr. The typical top rate across 237 priced coding listings is $90/hr.

Getting in

Hard to get in~1–2 hours of assessments. Valid government photo ID.

Steady work

Work is patchyFeast-or-famine project volume.

Payout record

Some delaysSchedule: weekly, by Friday for the prior Monday–Sunday. Paid via Stripe or PayPal (depends on country).

Freshness

RecentPosted 2w ago. Still listed on Alignerr on Nov 6, 2026.

Where you live

Not statedThe listing names no country.

The job description

About the Role

What if your Python expertise could directly shape how the world's most advanced AI models are built, tested, and improved? We're looking for a senior Python engineer to design and build the data pipelines, evaluation harnesses, and annotation tooling that sit at the heart of cutting-edge AI development.

This is a fully remote, flexible contract role working alongside leading AI research labs on real production systems. If you're a strong Python engineer who wants to do meaningful, high-impact work at the frontier of AI — this is the role for you.

What You'll Do

Design, build, and optimize high-performance Python systems supporting AI data pipelines and model evaluation workflows
Develop full-stack tooling and backend services for large-scale data annotation, validation, and quality control
Build and maintain evaluation harnesses that integrate with ML inference frameworks
Improve reliability, performance, and safety across existing Python codebases
Instrument systems with observability and metrics collection to monitor reliability and model performance
Identify bottlenecks and edge cases in data and system behavior, and implement scalable fixes
Collaborate with data, research, and engineering teams to support model training and evaluation workflows
Participate in synchronous design reviews to iterate on architecture and implementation decisions

Who You Are

Native or fluent English speaker with clear written and verbal communication skills
Full-stack developer with a strong systems programming background
3–5+ years of professional experience writing production-grade Python
Experienced building evaluation harnesses for ML models and integrating with inference frameworks
Solid background in observability, metrics collection, and monitoring for production systems
Self-motivated and reliable — able to commit 20–40 hours per week

Nice to Have

Prior experience with data annotation, data quality, or evaluation systems
Familiarity with AI/ML workflows, model training, or benchmarking pipelines
Experience with distributed systems or developer tooling
Background in MLOps or AI infrastructure

Why Join Us

Work directly on cutting-edge AI projects alongside leading research labs
Fully remote and flexible — structure your work week around your life
Freelance autonomy with the depth and consistency of meaningful, long-term technical work
Make a tangible impact on how next-generation AI models are evaluated and improved
Potential for ongoing work and contract extension as new projects launch

How do you apply to Alignerr?

Apply on Alignerr

The Apply button opens this post on Alignerr's own site. You apply with them, not with Rubric. Budget about 1–2 hours of assessments.

Get through screening

What Alignerr asks for after you apply:

Take the TestGorilla skills assessment (usually one attempt per role)
Verify your identity with Persona
Join the Alignerr Slack community
Set up payouts once you are assigned to a project

Start work and get paid

Pay schedule: weekly, by Friday for the prior Monday–Sunday. Paid via Stripe or PayPal (depends on country). You're paid for the work they hand out, not a fixed salary.

Alignerr also needs

Valid government photo ID
Degree or professional experience for expert roles
Webcam for proctored assessments on some roles

Red flags

Red flagLong gaps with no project after passing
Red flagWorker reports of delayed or withheld payments on Glassdoor

What is Alignerr like to work for?

Labelbox's contractor network, which hires generalists and domain experts to label data and write and grade AI training tasks.

Advertised pay	$15–150/hr
Getting in	Hard to get in
Application takes	~1–2 hours of assessments
How you get paid	Weekly, by Friday for the prior Monday–Sunday, via Stripe or PayPal (depends on country)
Payout record	Some delays
Countries	Accepts most countries but blocks signups from about two dozen; posts India-specific roles such as Hindi, Telugu and Indian-English language and cultural review work.

Generalist and bilingual work is around $15–20/hr, coding QA $30–40/hr, and senior software, advanced math, medical and law roles $70–150/hr; some projects pay per approved task.