Expert Software Engineer - Scala / Kotlin / OCaml

Expert Software Engineer – Scala / Kotlin / OCaml

$120–200/hour

Hourly contract Remote C

Compensation: $120–200/hour, based on depth and experience

Expected commitment: 20–40 hrs/week

Task flow is variable — work tends to arrive in waves, and there can be a lag between task batches. We're looking for people who stay flexible, including availability on weekends when needed, and who take ownership of keeping the project moving forward

No proprietary tooling required — tasks are completable without employer-provided systems

You will be engaged as an independent contractor.

This is a fully remote role that can be completed on your own schedule.

Projects can be extended, shortened, or concluded early depending on needs and performance.

Your work at Mercor will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer, client, or institution.

Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise based on services rendered.

Please note: We are unable to support H1-B or STEM OPT candidates at this time.

About the Opportunity

A leading AI research organization is evaluating how advanced AI systems perform in specialized engineering domains, and is seeking expert software engineers with deep, hands-on experience in Scala, Kotlin, and/or OCaml. You'll apply your expertise to assess complex, real-world technical scenarios — directly shaping how cutting-edge AI performs in these ecosystems. Single-language specialists are strongly encouraged to apply.

What You'll Do

• Apply your language expertise to evaluate technical tasks against real-world professional standards
• Review intricate code-level situations and provide precise, structured written assessments
• Work inside containerized repositories (Docker), running and interpreting programmatic and CI-style checks to judge whether an engineering environment is sound
• Provide clear written rationales explaining your expert judgments
• Complete well-defined, time-bounded tasks with explicit evaluation criteria

Who We're Looking For

We value strong CS fundamentals, fast ramp-up, and high ownership — engineers who can flex across languages are especially valued, and deep single-language specialists are very welcome. The ideal candidate brings:

• 5+ years of professional software engineering in one or more of:

  • Scala — functional/OOP JVM development; distributed systems; Spark, Akka, Cats, or ZIO; data engineering contexts
  • Kotlin — JVM and Android development; coroutines; modern backend services
  • OCaml — typed functional programming; compilers, tooling, or formal/systems work
• Comfort working in Docker/CI-based repo environments and reading automated checks — or the ability to ramp on these fast
• Ability to articulate not just what code does but why it's correct or idiomatic, clearly in writing
• Welcomed: engineers from top product, data, or research engineering backgrounds; non-traditional digital footprints are fine — a GitHub profile is not required

Why This Work Matters

Scala, Kotlin, and OCaml power distributed data systems, modern mobile and backend platforms, and high-assurance software — domains where AI systems still have limited depth. Your assessments directly influence how they learn to operate in them.

About Mercor

Mercor partners with leading AI labs and enterprises to train frontier models using human expertise. You will work on projects that focus on training and enhancing AI systems. You will be paid competitively, collaborate with leading researchers, and help shape the next generation of AI systems in your area of expertise.

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