Lead Backend Engineer — AI Tooling
About The Role
What if your Python expertise could directly shape the infrastructure powering next-generation AI models? We're looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to design and build the data pipelines, annotation systems, and evaluation tooling that leading AI labs depend on to train and improve their most important models.
This is a fully remote contract role with flexible hours — real, high-impact engineering work on production systems at the frontier of AI development.
Organization: Alignerr
Type: Hourly Contract
Location: Remote
Commitment: 20–40 hours/week
What You'll Do
Design, build, and optimize high-performance Python systems supporting AI data pipelines and evaluation workflows
Develop backend services and full-stack tooling for large-scale data annotation, validation, and quality control
Architect robust APIs (REST/GraphQL), design database schemas, and implement authentication and authorization flows
Improve reliability, performance, and safety across existing Python codebases
Collaborate with data, research, and engineering teams to support model training and evaluation workflows
Identify bottlenecks and edge cases in data and system behavior, and implement scalable solutions
Lead synchronous code reviews and contribute to system design decisions
Who You Are
Native or fluent English speaker with strong written and verbal communication skills
Experienced full-stack developer with a strong systems programming background
5+ years of professional experience writing production Python backend services
Deep familiarity with modern web frameworks and strict type enforcement patterns
Comfortable leading code reviews and driving system design discussions
Able to commit 20–40 hours per week with reliable availability
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 working directly with or alongside AI research teams
Why Join Us
Work on real production systems used by leading AI labs — not toy projects
Fully remote and flexible — structure your hours around your life
Freelance autonomy with the depth and challenge of high-stakes engineering work
Make a tangible impact on AI systems that are shaping the future of technology
Potential for ongoing work and contract extension as new projects launch