01 · The role
What you would do
- Create hard problems in four areas (kernels, profiling, debugging and serving), some built to trip up frontier models on accelerator code, with correct worked solutions
- Review ML systems tasks and answers, writing technical feedback that holds up to expert scrutiny
- Draft rubrics and guidelines for judging kernel tuning, profiler readings, distributed-systems reasoning and the balance of serving throughput against latency
- Coordinate with fellow specialists so the training data stays accurate and consistent
02 · Requirements
What they ask for
- Two or more years of hands-on work in ML systems or infrastructure, model serving or accelerator performance
- Practical experience in custom kernels (Pallas, Triton, CUDA or CUTLASS), profiling and trace analysis, debugging distributed or accelerator-bound workloads, or serving LLMs at scale
- Production experience with JAX or PyTorch, and with modern accelerators such as TPUs, H100, B200, Trainium or MI300
- Availability for at least 40 hours a week on weekdays
- Strong written communication
Helpful, not required
- Experience with JAX, XLA or TPUs
- Framework-level depth, such as custom operators, sharding and distributed training, or compiler work
- MLOps
- Kernel optimization
- Performance profiling
- LLM inference
- JAX
- PyTorch
03 · Eligibility
Who can apply
Remote, and the listing accepts candidates in any country, contracted through Cincinnatus LLC or a local employer-of-record partner. Mercor's payment countries in October 2026 did not include Kenya, so applicants in Kenya should confirm before applying.
Some African countries
Open in some African countries only: check the listing for which. Mercor in Africa
Apply from where you live, as yourself. Using a VPN or someone else's identity to get around a country rule breaks these platforms' terms, and it is the quickest way to lose an account and any unpaid earnings.
04 · Applying
How to get in
You apply through Mercor's own process. The steps from sign-up to first paid task are on its profile.
- How AI interviews work at micro1 and Mercor: what the AI interview checks, and how to prepare.
- Getting paid from Africa: PayPal, Payoneer, Airtm, Wise and more. It covers which of Mercor's payout routes work where you live, and what they cost.
05 · Source
About this listing
We last confirmed this opening on Oct 30, 2026, and it was posted on Oct 22, 2026. Rates and hours come from the listing unless the note beside the rate says otherwise. Where the listing names no countries, the Africa status is our reading of it and of what is known of Mercor's country rules, set out on its profile, and never marks a role more open than they show. The listing itself has the final word.
The listing on work.mercor.com(opens in a new tab)