AI Evaluation Engineer (Python, QA or Security)
Mindrift • United States
Education
Not stated
Type
Hourly
Pay
$50/hr equivalent
Mindrift pays per task and shows the pay as an hourly rate.
Last checked
5d ago
Checked
About this role
From the Mindrift listing
Please submit your CV in English and indicate your level of English proficiency. Mindrift connects specialists with project-based AI opportunities for leading tech companies, focused on testing, evaluating, and improving AI systems. Participation is project-based, not permanent employment. What this opportunity involves We're building a dataset to evaluate AI coding agents - how well a model handles real-world developer tasks. You'll create challenging tasks and evaluation criteria within realistic simulated environments: Build realistic developer environments - a virtual company with codebase, infrastructure, and context (tickets, docs, conversations) that forms a believable development history Design tasks from intermediate states of these environments - craft the prompt, define what "solved" means, and ensure the task is solvable by an AI agent Write tests that verify agent solutions - accept all valid approaches and reject incorrect ones, neither too strict nor too lenient Iterate on tasks and tests based on QA feedback - review agent solutions, analyze failures, and refine until the evaluation is fair and robust What this is NOT Not data labeling Not prompt engineering Not writing code from scratch - the agent writes most of the code; you guide and evaluate What we look for 5+ years in software development Core stack: Python (FastAPI), JavaScript/TypeScript (React), Docker, Postgres, Kafka, Redis Experience writing tests (functional, integration) English proficiency - B2+ Why this is hard Frontier models are already good at coding. Creating a task that genuinely challenges the best models is non-trivial. You need to deeply understand where models fail and what scenarios reveal the difference between a good and a bad solution. Tasks have many valid solutions - writing tests that accept all correct solutions and reject incorrect ones is harder than it sounds. How it works Apply → Pass qualification(s) → Join a project → Complete tasks → Get paid Compensation Up to $50/hr equivalent , depending on level and pace. Tasks are estimated at ~20 hours each; you set your own schedule.
Requirements
- Must be eligible to work in United States
- Fluent proficiency in English (Written & Verbal)
- Reliable high-speed internet connection
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
- Demonstrated expertise in Software Engineering
AI Evaluation Engineer interview prep
Questions AI Evaluation Engineer interviewers often ask. They aren't taken from this listing.
How do you design an evaluation set that catches the failure modes you're worried about, instead of mostly easy cases?
I start from known or suspected failure modes and write examples that specifically target them, rather than sampling broadly and hoping coverage happens naturally. A random sample tends to be dominated by easy cases the model already handles well, which tells you little about where it breaks.
What's your process for deciding whether a model regression is a real problem or noise in the eval?
I check whether the drop is consistent across multiple runs and whether it's concentrated in a specific category rather than spread thinly across everything. A real regression usually has a pattern behind it; pure noise tends to be scattered and doesn't reproduce reliably.
How do you evaluate a model's output when there's no single correct answer, only better and worse ones?
I define what specifically makes one response better, like factual grounding, completeness, or reasoning quality, and evaluate against those explicit criteria rather than an overall gut impression, since a vague preference judgment doesn't generalize well across raters or over time.
How do you keep an evaluation benchmark from becoming stale as the model improves and starts passing it trivially?
I track pass rates over time and treat a benchmark approaching ceiling as a signal to add harder cases, rather than treating consistently high scores as a finished success. A benchmark that stops discriminating between good and bad outputs has stopped being useful, even if the score still looks good.
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Why this role
This AI Evaluation Engineer (Python, QA or Security) opening pays $50/hr equivalent and uses Software Engineering knowledge you already have. Onboarding covers the AI training process.
Skills and categories
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Common questions
How much does Mindrift pay?
General evaluation tasks, such as fact-checking and tone checks, pay $15-30/hr and don't need an advanced degree. Verified experts can earn $40-100+/hr on specialized projects, so you can start as a generalist and move to a specialist track.
What does a typical Mindrift task involve?
Read a scenario, write a short prompt for the AI (around 100 words), evaluate two AI responses to it, fact-check the outputs, then write a brief explanation (around 50 words) on which response is better against the project rubric. The focus is clarity, safety, and rule-following, not creative writing.
Do task-based AI training roles require an interview?
Most use an online assessment or a test task instead of a live interview. When the listing says which, it's in the role details on this listing.
What does task-based AI training work look like?
Short, hands-on tasks such as recording videos, sorting images, rating AI answers or checking data. Most take 5 to 60 minutes each.
What does Software Engineering work look like for an AI Evaluation Engineer (Python, QA or Security)?
You check AI answers to Software Engineering questions, correct their errors and write expert reasoning. As an AI Evaluation Engineer (Python, QA or Security), you're hired for that judgment, so hands-on Software Engineering experience matters.
How much does this specific role pay?
This listing is posted at $50/hr equivalent, an hourly rate. Pay can change after we check the listing, so confirm the rate on the platform's application page.
Can I apply from outside the United States?
This role is open only to people based in the United States. The limit is usually about where the platform can legally hire, so applying from elsewhere rarely leads to an offer. Check the description for tax or right-to-work rules before you apply.