Remote Open Source Software Engineer

Mercor is seeking current or former CTOs or Founders with direct access and authority over their organization’s private codebase to partner on high-impact AI training and evaluation initiatives. You’ll be working with us and the AI company we engage to securely use your code to build realistic evals and, where permitted, train/improve coding models. What You’ll Do Authorize & enable access: Verify you have the legal authority to grant a limited license for evaluation and (if agreed) training use; coordinate secure repository access (read-only, scoped). Curate high-value datasets: Select representative modules/services, strip or mask secrets/PII, and define inclusion/exclusion rules. Design realistic evaluations: Create task suites spanning your stack (e.g., refactors, bug-fixes, feature diffs, tests, performance work), grounded in your production code. Develop test harnesses: Build/guide test cases and scoring that reflect real engineering constraints (builds, CI, style, coverage, perf). Analyze outcomes: Review model behavior on your code, highlight failure modes, and propose improvements aligned to your architecture. Ensure compliance & security: Partner with us on data handling (DPA/MSA/SOW), audit logs, redaction, secret scanning, and access revocation. You’re a great fit if you Are a CTO/founder (current or former) who controls or can authorize access to a substantial, production codebase (mono-repo or multi-service). Can grant a time-boxed, purpose-limited license for evaluation and—if mutually agreed—training on selected code segments. Have deep knowledge of your system’s architecture, tooling, and standards (Git, CI/CD, testing, observability). Are fluent in one or more of: Python, Java, C/C++, JavaScript, TypeScript (others welcome). Can collaborate asynchronously with researchers/engineers and move quickly with minimal oversight. Are an active OSS contributor on Git Role details Engagement: Part-time, flexible, 100% remote/asynchronous. Scope: Evaluation-only by default; training usage optional and controlled by written agreement (purpose-limited, revocable). Security: Read-only, least-privilege access; optional on-prem/VPC workflows; comprehensive auditability. Compensation & Legal You’ll be engaged as an hourly contractor via Mercor; payments weekly via Stripe Connect. For qualifying partners, we can structure separate, limited licenses (with fees) for evaluation and/or training use of selected code assets. All work is governed by mutually executed MSA/SOW and data protection terms. ,