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Senior Software Engineer - AI Data (US)

$6,000/week · 40 hours a week · Paid weekly · Fully remote · 4+ years experience About the role Frontier AI labs are building coding agents that do real engineering work. Before these coding agents ship, Senior Engineers have to work a real problem from a codebase they know…

Field
Software & coding
Where
United States
Commitment
part time
Asks for
PhD, Master's
Posted
6 days ago

Pay data for your profession: Software engineer AI trainer jobs · PhD AI trainer jobs

How this pay compares

Open software & coding roles that ask for a PhD have a median of $85/hr (13 roles).

Among platforms with 10 or more priced software & coding roles, Mercor has the highest median ($88/hr across 18 roles) and OpenTrain AI the lowest ($65/hr across 107).

Computed from 2,746 open roles we track across Mercor, micro1, Handshake AI, Alignerr, Appen and OpenTrain AI, refreshed daily. Midpoints of listed ranges; “up to” ceilings are left out of medians.

What you would earn at this rate

Per week, before tax

$2,250

Per month, if the work is steady

$9,750

Tax
Contract pay arrives with no tax withheld. A US contractor at this rate and these hours would set aside about $2,465 a month for self-employment tax plus federal income tax at the 12% bracket (25%, before state tax). Outside the US, your own country's rules apply.

Assumes paid hours only; unpaid assessments, onboarding and gaps between projects lower the real figure. Full take-home calculator · Track what you actually earn

Open software & coding roles on each platform

The same kind of work, priced on every platform we track, with the best-paid open role on each.

PlatformOpenMedianBest-paid open role
Mercor20$88/hrLegacy Codebase Migration Expert$200/hr
micro125$75/hrStrategic Project Lead, Coding/SWE$300k-500k/yr
Alignerr73$70/hrDevOps / IaC Engineer$90-120/hr
OpenTrain AI123$65/hrSoftware Engineer, AI Code Evaluation$200/hr
Handshake AIthis role10up to $90/hrSoftware EngineerUp to $150/hr

“Up to” rows list only ceilings, so their median is a maximum, not comparable with the range midpoints above them.

All 251 open software & coding roles →

The full listing

As posted on Handshake AI. See the original

$6,000/week · 40 hours a week · Paid weekly · Fully remote · 4+ years experience

About the role

Frontier AI labs are building coding agents that do real engineering work. Before these coding agents ship, Senior Engineers have to work a real problem from a codebase they know, step by step, to identify where a frontier model goes wrong then correct it.

Not just anyone can do this. It takes a select group of engineers with experience and taste.

Engineers who qualify join a fixed-pay contract: earn $6,000/wk for 40hrs of work ($150/hr). Work on your own schedule, paid weekly.

What you'll do

  • Judge the AI's work. Give an agent a real ticket, then review its output like a teammate's pull request: run it, evaluate it.
  • Pair with the AI on your own task. Work a real problem from a codebase you know, step by step, and flag where the model goes wrong.

What's in it for you

  • Senior-engineer pay. A weekly contract paying $6,000 for a 40-hour week. Work from anywhere, any time.
  • Work that lasts. This is not a two-week gig. The work is here month after month, and the 40 hours are yours every week you're on the team.
  • An elite, hand-picked team. You’ll have priority access to the projects frontier labs trust us with, the ones every engineer wants a seat on.
  • Problems that are actually hard. Your work on difficult tasks goes straight back to the labs training the next best-in-class models.
  • A seat at the table. You'll work directly with project leads from day one. Your read on where models fail and where the bar should sit shapes how we run these programs.
  • Ongoing, on your schedule. The contract renews every week while you meet quality standards. You set your hours. Exceptional engineers may be approved for additional hours, paid at $150/hr on top of your base earnings.
  • Support that meets your needs. A dedicated team, fast answers, and real feedback on your work.

How it works

  • Pass a proctored coding assessment, without the use of AI tools. You’ll earn $100 when you pass. About 2 hours.
  • Complete one paid trial task. You’ll earn $40 when you submit your first stage and $1,100 once it's approved through every review cycle. About 10 hours total.
  • Join the team and continue working. We’ll provide 40 hours of work every week, totalling $6,000.

You're a fit if you have

  • 4+ years of professional software engineering experience
  • A Bachelor's or Master’s degree in computer science or a related field
  • US work authorization
  • Strong written English and 40 hours a week to give during your contract
  • No AI background needed. Your software engineering skills are the whole job.

From applying to your first payment on Handshake AI

  1. 1

    Apply and verify

    Apply and verify your identity on the Handshake AI site.

  2. 2

    Matching

    Handshake matches people to projects by background and invites you by email when one fits. Some projects require an assessment first.

  3. 3

    Onboarding

    Onboarding is paid only when a project's terms say so.

  4. 4

    First payment

    The pay week runs Monday to Sunday (Pacific). Payouts go out through Stripe by Wednesday afternoon and usually become withdrawable about two days later.

Sources: Handshake AI help: Getting started, Handshake AI help: Fellowship expectations, Handshake AI payments processing, Earning on Handshake AI

Full Handshake AI profile: watch-outs and the public record →

Pay history

Handshake AI has listed this role at up to $150/hr since Nov 6, 2026 with no change.

What workers report about Handshake AI

Anonymous reports from people who applied or worked there: whether they got work, what they were paid and how fast.

Other software & coding roles

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