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# Software Engineer, Applied AI - Frontier Engineering

- **Company:** Mercor, Inc.
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA, United States
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Python (Programming Language), Software Engineering, Large Language Models, Build Management, Data Delivery, Data Pipelines, Data Generation
- **Published:** October 26, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.careerbuilder.com/job-details/software-engineer-applied-ai-frontier-engineering-san-francisco-ca--fe5b9b01-aa2e-4ecc-9c5a-0ea4470f2e24

## About the Role

Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Training/Teaching, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Benchmarking, Fortune 500 Customers, Category Development, Software Engineering, System Operations, * Strong backend engineering fundamentals in a modern language (Python, Go, Rust, etc.)

 * Experience with model training and inference
 * Strong grounding in statistical analysis and experimental design for measuring model performance and improvements
 * Familiarity with evaluation methods for large language models
 * Comfort working through ambiguity and shipping iteratively

You're likely someone who

 * Enjoys ownership and customer-facing problem solving
 * Thinks entrepreneurially and moves quickly
 * Balances speed with engineering rigor
 * Communicates clearly with technical and non-technical users

## Description

As 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 Do

 * Partner closely with frontier AI labs to understand their data, post-training, and evaluation needs
 * Build and operate scalable data pipelines for post-training workflows and model evaluations
 * Design and build scalable systems for synthetic data generation and data quality, and work directly with customers to understand requirements and develop technical solutions
 * Prototype new data types, benchmarks, and evaluation frameworks
 * Lead technical discussions with customers

What Makes This Role Different

 * Direct 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-Day

 * Fast-moving, high-ownership environment
 * Technically demanding, collaborative work
 * "Building the plane while flying it"
 * In-person culture (SF, 181 Fremont)
 * Aligned with frontier research timelines, * Real ownership and visible impact
 * Technical depth paired with human interaction
 * Fast feedback loops and high leverage
 * There are very few roles that combine this level of technical rigor, customer proximity, and research exposure.