Lead Backend Engineer — AI Tooling
About The Role
What if your engineering skills could directly shape the infrastructure powering the next generation of AI? We're looking for a Lead Backend Engineer to build the data pipelines, annotation systems, and evaluation tooling that leading AI labs depend on to train and improve their models.
This is a fully remote contract role working at the cutting edge of AI development — on real production systems that matter. If you've spent years writing serious Python backend code and want to apply that craft to one of the most consequential technical challenges of our time, this is the role for you.
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
Identify bottlenecks and edge cases in data and system behavior, and implement scalable solutions
Collaborate closely with data, research, and engineering teams to support model training and evaluation workflows
Lead code reviews and system design sessions with clear, precise communication
Who You Are
5+ years of professional experience writing production-grade Python backend services
Full-stack developer with a strong systems programming background
Expert in modern Python web frameworks and strict type enforcement patterns
Proven experience architecting APIs, designing database schemas, and building auth flows
Clear, confident communicator — able to lead technical discussions and code reviews
Native or fluent English speaker
Available 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
Why Join Us
Work on cutting-edge AI projects directly alongside leading research labs
Fully remote and flexible — work where and when you do your best work
Freelance autonomy with the structure of meaningful, high-impact engineering work
Make a tangible contribution to the systems that shape how AI models are built and evaluated
Potential for ongoing work and contract extension as new projects launch