Mercor, the talent engine specializing in helping leading AI labs and research organizations advance machine learning, is immediately hiring for an AI Research Scientist / Engineer. This is a perfect contract opportunity for early-career Machine Learning Engineers, graduate students, or PhD candidates who value rigor, innovation, and measurable impact.
This role focuses on benchmarking and improving model performance and training speed across real machine learning workloads.
Job Details and Benefits
- Job Title: Machine Learning Engineer / AI Research Scientist
- Contract Type: Part-Time / Independent Contractor
- Working Model: Fully Remote & Asynchronous – Offers flexible, self-set working hours.
- Location: EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) – including the MENA region.
- Compensation: $80 – $120 USD per hour (Rate is based on experience and region).
- Commitment: Approximately 20 hours per week.
- Duration: Through December 22nd, 2025, with potential extension into 2026.
Key Responsibilities (What You’ll Do)
Drafting detailed natural-language plans and code implementations for various machine learning tasks.
Converting novel ML problems into agent-executable tasks for reinforcement learning environments.
Identifying failure modes and applying "golden patches" to LLM-generated trajectories for complex ML tasks.
Required Qualifications and Skills
- Experience:
- 0–2 years as a Machine Learning Engineer, OR
- Graduate-level experience (Master’s/PhD) in Computer Science, ML, or related coursework.
Essential Skills:
- Strong Python proficiency.
- Familiarity with major ML libraries: TensorFlow, XGBoost, scikit-learn, etc.
- Proven experience with model training, data preparation, and evaluation.
- Bonus Qualifications: Contributions to ML benchmarks or open-source ML tooling.
How to Apply
Mercor reviews applications daily. To be considered for this high-value opportunity, candidates must complete all steps:
- Submit your resume.
- Complete the System Design Session (under 30 minutes).
- Fill out the Machine Learning Engineer Screen (under 5 minutes).
Application Link: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4327768725/