Software Engineer - Development & Programming

Software Engineer - Development & Programming at Keystone Recruitment

Keystone Recruitment is seeking experienced software development professionals on behalf of one of its clients, Mercor. This remote hourly contract role focuses on supporting a high-priority data collection initiative in collaboration with leading AI research labs. You will be instrumental in capturing real-world development and programming workflows, enabling AI systems to better comprehend complex software interfaces, engineering tools, and multi-step technical processes. The data you contribute will directly support the training and evaluation of next-generation AI systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Record screen sessions demonstrating development and programming workflows with clear verbal narration for each step.
• Annotate screenshots of professional development software by precisely bounding relevant UI elements.
• Follow provided staging instructions to configure specific UI states before recording.
• Utilize custom capture tools to record workflows accurately and consistently.
• Adhere strictly to task guidelines to ensure data quality, consistency, and usability.
• Deliver outputs suitable for large-scale AI research and downstream model training.

Qualifications

Candidates for the Software Engineer - Development & Programming role should possess strong hands-on experience with professional development and programming tools. Fluency in English communication is essential, as is a high attention to detail and the ability to follow precise technical instructions. This role requires comfort working independently and meeting tight deadlines. Access to a physical Mac and the ability to create a fresh macOS user profile are mandatory.

• Strong hands-on experience with professional development and programming tools, including:
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Android Studio
  • Quartus
  • VMware
• High attention to detail and ability to follow precise technical instructions.
• Comfortable working independently and meeting tight deadlines.
• Fluent English communication skills.
• Access to a physical Mac and ability to create a fresh macOS user profile if required.

Nice to Have

• Prior experience with data collection, annotation, or QA work.
• Experience recording or documenting development workflows.
• Comfort working with new tools and staged environments.

Engagement Details

This is a fully remote, asynchronous independent contractor role offering a flexible working schedule. Project duration may vary and is subject to performance and project needs. The work involves screen recording, UI annotation, and workflow documentation. Compensation is hourly, aligned with task scope and expertise, with weekly payments via Stripe or Wise. It is crucial that contractors do not access confidential or proprietary information from any other employer, client, or institution. H1-B and STEM OPT candidates cannot be supported at this time.

Eligibility

Applicants must be legally authorized to work as independent contractors in their country of residence.

About the Client

Mercor partners with leading AI labs and enterprises to train frontier AI systems using real-world human expertise. As a contributor, you will collaborate with leading researchers and help shape the next generation of AI capabilities across software, engineering, and technical domains.

Key skills/competency

• Software Development
• Programming
• UI Annotation
• Screen Recording
• AI Training Data
• Technical Documentation
• Visual Studio Code
• Android Studio
• macOS
• Independent Work