Principal Python Engineer - ML Infrastructure
New York
**Principal Python Engineer --- ML Infrastructure (AI Training)** **About The Role** What if your deep Python expertise could directly shape the infrastructure behind the world's most advanced AI systems? We're looking for a Principal Python 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, high-impact contract role for a seasoned engineer who thrives at the intersection of systems programming, distributed computing, and AI infrastructure. If you've spent years building production-grade Python at scale and want your work to matter at the frontier of AI --- this is it. * Organization: Alignerr * Type: Hourly Contract * Location: Remote * Commitment: 20--40 hours/week **What You'll Do** * Design, build, and optimize high-performance Python systems supporting AI data pipelines and model evaluation workflows * Develop full-stack tooling and backend services for large-scale data annotation, validation, and quality control * Improve reliability, performance, and safety across production Python codebases used by top AI research teams * Collaborate with data, research, and engineering teams to accelerate model training and evaluation workflows * Identify bottlenecks and edge cases in data and system behavior --- then implement scalable, lasting fixes * Drive architectural decisions through synchronous design reviews with senior technical stakeholders **Who You Are** * Native or fluent English speaker with strong written and verbal communication skills * Full-stack developer with a deep systems programming foundation and 5+ years writing production Python for large-scale infrastructure or platform engineering * Expert in distributed computing systems and advanced asynchronous concurrency patterns * Deep understanding of Python internals --- GIL limitations, memory profiling, and compute-heavy performance optimization * Comfortable driving technical strategy and architectural decisions independently * Available to commit 20--40 hours per week on a consistent basis **Nice to Have** * Prior experience with data annotation, data quality systems, or model evaluation pipelines * Familiarity with AI/ML workflows, model training, or benchmarking infrastructure * Background in distributed systems design or developer tooling **Why Join Us** * Work directly with leading AI research labs on real production systems at the frontier of AI development * Fully remote and flexible --- work from anywhere on a schedule that fits your life * Freelance autonomy with the structure and focus of meaningful, high-stakes engineering work * Make a direct, tangible impact on the infrastructure powering the next generation of AI * Potential for ongoing engagement and expanded scope as projects evolve
