About The Role

About MercorMercor's mission is to organize human intelligence to power the AI economy. We're a leading AI data company, building the layer between human expertise and frontier models. Millions of domain experts on the platform are paid over $4 million per day to train frontier AI models. Mercor's APEX benchmark family measures AI's real-world impact on professional work. Mercor Enterprise brings this same infrastructure to Fortune 500 companies: helping companies capture how their best people actually work, translating that expertise directly back into agents. Mercor is creating a new category of work where expertise powers AI advancement. Achieving this requires an ambitious, fast-paced and deeply committed team. You’ll work alongside researchers, operators, and AI companies at the forefront of shaping the systems that are redefining society. Mercor is a profitable Series C company valued at $10 billion. We work in-person five days a week in our San Francisco, NYC, or London offices.About the RoleAs a Software Engineer on Applied AI, you’ll build, deploy, and operate systems that sit directly between frontier AI research and data delivery.This is a high-ownership, deeply technical role. You’ll work through ill-defined problems, prototype quickly with researchers and customers, and take systems from early experiments to reliable, scalable production. You’ll own projects end-to-end: spanning requirements gathering, creating data creation pipelines, and improving model-adjacent infrastructure, while partnering closely with frontier AI labs and Mercor’s internal teams to ship high-impact applied AI solutions.What You’ll DoPartner closely with frontier AI labs to understand their data, post-training, and evaluation needsBuild and operate scalable data pipelines for post-training workflows and model evaluationsDesign and build scalable systems for synthetic data generation and data quality, and work directly with customers to understand requirements and develop technical solutionsPrototype new data types, benchmarks, and evaluation frameworksLead technical discussions with customersWhat Makes This Role DifferentDirect frontier exposure. You’ll work closely with researchers at leading AI labs, building infrastructure that directly accelerates cutting-edge research.Coding + customer work. This role blends deep technical execution with customer interaction. Engineers who enjoy both building and communicating tend to thrive.Day-to-DayFast-moving, high-ownership environmentTechnically demanding, collaborative work“Building the plane while flying it”In-person culture at our new New York office at One World Trade CenterAligned with frontier research timelinesWhat We’re Looking ForStrong backend engineering fundamentals in a modern language (Python, Go, Rust, etc.)Experience with model training and inferenceStrong grounding in statistical analysis and experimental design for measuring model performance and improvementsFamiliarity with evaluation methods for large language modelsComfort working through ambiguity and shipping iterativelyYou’re likely someone whoEnjoys ownership and customer-facing problem solvingThinks entrepreneurially and moves quicklyBalances speed with engineering rigorCommunicates clearly with technical and non-technical usersWhy Engineers JoinDirect exposure to frontier AI researchReal ownership and visible impactTechnical depth paired with human interactionFast feedback loops and high leverageThere are very few roles that combine this level of technical rigor, customer proximity, and research exposure.BenefitsBi-annual performance bonus structureGenerous equity grant vested over 4 yearsUp to $15k Relocation bonus$10K proximity bonus (if you live within 0.5 miles of our office)$1.5K monthly stipend for mealsFree Equinox membership$200 monthly laundry reimbursement$200 monthly personal wellness reimbursementHealth, Dental, Vision insurance