24-MAG
Remote | Software Engineer – Backend — $30–$100/hour
Fully remote freelance/contract role for experienced backend engineers to design AI training and evaluation tasks: coding challenges, debugging problems, refactoring assignments, automated verifiers, and reference solutions. Requires strong skills in at least one backend language (Python, Java, Node.js, Go, Rust, TypeScript, C++); ~15 hrs/week, output-based pay of $30-$100/hour.
- Compensation
- $30–$100 / hr
- Location
- New York, New York, United States
- Work setup
- Remote
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Contract
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Backend
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- professional backend software engineering experience
- proficiency in at least one backend language: python, java, node.js, go, rust, typescript, or c++
- experience building scalable backend services and APIs
- understanding of backend application architecture and service design
- experience developing and maintaining production-quality software
- ability to identify, investigate, and resolve complex software bugs
- experience implementing substantial new features in existing applications
- strong codebase refactoring skills and maintainable software design knowledge
- experience diagnosing and resolving performance bottlenecks
- solid understanding of algorithms, data structures, and CS fundamentals
- familiarity with automated software testing and verification methodologies
- ability to write reliable tests assessing functional correctness
- strong code review skills and software quality standards
- experience working with existing repositories and unfamiliar code
- ability to design technically meaningful programming challenges with clear requirements
- strong analytical reasoning and independent problem-solving
- understanding of reproducible environments and deterministic evaluation
- experience assessing multiple valid implementation strategies
- excellent technical communication and documentation skills
- strong attention to detail when developing tasks, tests, and reference solutions
- ability to work independently and deliver consistent, high-quality assignments
Nice to have
- experience with large-scale applications, distributed services, or complex backend systems
- familiarity with AI-assisted software engineering or automated coding evaluation
Full description
We are sharing a specialised remote consulting opportunity for experienced Backend Software Engineers with strong expertise in scalable application development, API engineering, software debugging, codebase refactoring, and performance optimisation to contribute their technical knowledge to advanced AI training and evaluation initiatives.
Selected professionals will create realistic and challenging backend software engineering tasks that assess how advanced AI systems identify bugs, implement features, refactor existing code, and resolve complex programming problems. The work combines practical backend development experience with automated testing, deterministic verification, and structured technical evaluation to improve how AI models reason about and modify production-style software systems. Prior experience with AI training projects is not required.
Key ResponsibilitiesBackend Engineering & Coding Task Development
- Design realistic backend software engineering challenges using existing code repositories.
- Develop coding assignments involving complex feature implementation and software maintenance.
- Create tasks that reflect practical engineering problems in scalable services and APIs.
- Incorporate relevant programming concepts, algorithms, and data structures into technical challenges.
- Define clear problem statements and implementation requirements for AI evaluation assignments.
Software Debugging & Bug Resolution
- Identify and reproduce realistic software bugs within backend applications.
- Develop debugging challenges involving application logic, API behaviour, and system interactions.
- Design problems requiring systematic investigation of software failures and incorrect behaviour.
- Evaluate approaches to resolving implementation errors and software inconsistencies.
- Ensure debugging tasks are technically meaningful and representative of professional development workflows.
Feature Implementation & Codebase Refactoring
- Develop challenging assignments involving new backend features and service functionality.
- Create refactoring tasks that require understanding existing application architecture.
- Evaluate code modifications for correctness, maintainability, and compatibility with existing functionality.
- Design problems involving interactions between application components and supporting services.
- Apply sound software engineering principles when developing and reviewing reference implementations.
Performance Optimisation & Automated Verification
- Create technical challenges involving performance bottlenecks and backend efficiency improvements.
- Develop deterministic verifiers that assess whether submitted solutions satisfy defined requirements.