Backend Developer - Data Annotation Systems
New York
**Backend Developer --- Data Annotation Systems (AI Training)** **About The Role** What if your Python expertise could directly shape the infrastructure behind the most advanced AI systems in the world? We're looking for a Senior Python Full-Stack Engineer to design and build the data pipelines, annotation tooling, and evaluation systems that leading AI labs depend on to train and improve next-generation models. This is a fully remote, flexible contract role for an experienced engineer who thrives on high-impact systems work and wants to be close to the frontier of AI development. * Organization: Alignerr * Type: Hourly Contract * Location: Remote * Commitment: 20--40 hours/week **What You'll Do** * Design, build, and optimize high-performance Python systems that power AI data pipelines and model evaluation workflows * Develop full-stack backend services and tooling for large-scale data annotation, validation, and quality control * Build and maintain asynchronous task queues to handle complex, long-running background jobs at scale * Optimize database queries for high-read/write workloads and serve data via real-time protocols such as WebSockets * Improve reliability, performance, and safety across existing Python codebases * Collaborate closely with data, research, and engineering teams to support model training and evaluation workflows * Identify bottlenecks and edge cases in system and data behavior, then implement scalable, production-ready fixes * Participate in synchronous design reviews to iterate on architecture and implementation decisions **Who You Are** * Native or fluent English speaker with clear written and verbal communication skills * Full-stack developer with a strong systems programming background and 3--5+ years of professional Python experience * Proven experience building and shipping production-grade Python applications * Experienced with asynchronous task queues and background job processing * Skilled at optimizing database performance for demanding, high-throughput applications * Comfortable working with real-time data protocols (e.g., WebSockets) * Self-directed and reliable --- able to commit 20--40 hours per week and deliver consistently without hand-holding **Nice to Have** * Prior experience with data annotation, data quality pipelines, or model evaluation infrastructure * Familiarity with AI/ML workflows, model training, or benchmarking systems * Experience with distributed systems, developer tooling, or data engineering **Why Join Us** * Work directly with leading AI labs on production systems that matter * Fully remote and flexible --- structure your work around your schedule * Freelance autonomy with the substance of high-impact engineering work * Get hands-on exposure to the cutting edge of AI infrastructure and research workflows * Potential for ongoing work and contract extension as projects scale
