Network Engineer Expert
AfterQuery • Remote
Education
Not stated
Type
Hourly
Pay Rate
$100/hr
Listed
29d ago
About this role
From the AfterQuery listing
Network engineers to build the routing, switching, and troubleshooting scenarios frontier AI labs use to test model judgment.
AfterQuery builds the expert evaluation data that frontier AI labs use to measure and improve their models. We're hiring network engineers as contractors to author and grade the routing, switching, and troubleshooting scenarios those evaluations run on.
What you'll actually do
Author realistic network scenarios, from design questions through outage troubleshooting
Write reference answers with the design and troubleshooting reasoning behind each decision
Grade model output for protocol accuracy and operational soundness
Flag configurations that read plausible but would break production networks
Who this is for
Engineers with at least 2 years of network engineering or administration experience
Practitioners with hands on routing, switching, and firewall experience in production
Engineers with depth in protocols such as BGP, OSPF, VLANs, and VPNs
Clear writers who can document the reasoning behind a design or troubleshooting decision
Contract and pay
$80 to $120/hr, paid weekly via Stripe. Your rate is set from your experience, not negotiated down after you start.
Remote, fully async. No fixed hours.
Minimum 10 hours per week, no maximum. Scale up or down week to week.
No screen recording, no keystroke monitoring, no idle timers.
Independent contractor. Ongoing project work rather than single task batches.
How our hiring process works
Apply at /apply/network-engineer-expert. About five minutes. Resume plus a few structured questions.
Resume review. Every application gets read against a published rubric and gets a decision.
Written assessment. You may be asked to take a written assessment for further placement.
Onboarding. Sign the contractor agreement, connect Stripe, and get platform access.
Project match. You're matched to live work in your specialty, usually within a week of onboarding.
About AfterQuery
AfterQuery is an expert data lab. We build the evaluation and training data that frontier AI labs use to measure what their models can and can't do in real professional work. Our contributors are practicing professionals, not annotators, and the work is credited, reviewed, and paid at professional rates.
How long hiring takes
Across the AI training platforms we refer candidates to, the median gap between referral and hire is about 30 days. It varies by platform and role, so treat it as a rough guide for this one.
Interview Prep
Sample questions for a Network Engineer role, written in-house to help you prepare.
How do you approach subnetting a network to balance address efficiency against future growth?
I look at the actual expected number of hosts per segment and add reasonable headroom rather than defaulting to the largest block available, since oversized subnets waste address space while undersized ones force a disruptive re-addressing later. I document the allocation plan so future growth has a clear path.
What's the difference between a Layer 2 and a Layer 3 switch, and when would you use each?
A Layer 2 switch forwards traffic based on MAC addresses within a single broadcast domain, while a Layer 3 switch can also route between subnets. I use Layer 3 switching when I need inter-VLAN routing at wire speed without adding a separate router as a bottleneck.
How do you design firewall rules to follow the principle of least privilege without making the ruleset unmanageable?
I group rules by service and source rather than writing overly specific one-off rules for every host, which keeps the ruleset both restrictive and readable. I also review and remove stale rules periodically, since firewall rulesets tend to accumulate cruft that nobody wants to be the one to delete.
What steps do you take to diagnose intermittent packet loss on a network segment?
I check for duplex mismatches and interface errors first, since those cause the kind of inconsistent loss that's hard to reproduce on demand. I also look at whether the loss correlates with traffic volume, which points toward congestion, versus being constant regardless of load, which points toward a physical or configuration issue.
This listing calls for this tool directly. Prep for the technical screen:
Why this role
$100/hr for Network Engineer Expert work puts your STEM expertise on the same footing as an AI lab's own research staff, without the overhead of running a consulting practice around it.
Talent pool
We're light on STEM candidates
We've matched 65 people with a STEM background against 726 STEM listings we've tracked, so most go out without one. Set up a profile and we'll consider you for a role like this one.
Set up your profileSkills and categories
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Common questions
How long do AfterQuery projects last?
Typically 2 to 3 weeks at 10 to 20 hours a week. There's no guaranteed follow-on work once a project closes, so treat it as a high-pay burst contract rather than steady income. AfterQuery does re-hire specialists for new campaigns, but that depends entirely on what AI labs are training at the time.
When does AfterQuery pay contractors?
On a per-contract schedule, typically net-15 to net-30 from invoice submission rather than the weekly payouts some platforms offer. Confirm the exact terms in your contract, and ask your project contact directly if payment timing affects your cash flow.
What does the day-to-day workload look like for elite-expert AI training roles?
Slow and deep, not fast and repetitive. A single task can take 45-60 minutes of researching citations or verifying complex calculations. Quality is what's being measured here, not throughput.
Is AI training work the same as traditional consulting?
No. Instead of client deliverables, you're given complex scenarios to evaluate: grading the AI's logic, correcting its hallucinations, and supplying expert-level reasoning it doesn't have on its own. The job is closer to teaching than consulting.
What does STEM work look like for a Network Engineer Expert?
Tasks here are scoped to STEM, not generic labeling. As a Network Engineer Expert, expect to draw on real domain judgment (evaluating outputs, correcting errors, or providing expert reasoning specific to STEM) rather than following a one-size-fits-all rubric. If you don't have hands-on STEM background, this is likely not the right listing to start with.
What specific skills does this listing call for?
Coding and Python are named directly in the listing. If you don't have hands-on experience with these, expect the screening process to test for them directly rather than accepting adjacent experience as a substitute.
How much does this specific role pay?
This listing is posted at $100/hr, an hourly rate. Pay can change between when we last checked the listing and when you apply, so confirm the current number on the platform's own application page before committing time.
What happens when I click Apply on this listing?
You'll be taken to Afterquery's external site to complete your application there. This listing links through a referral, but the process is identical to applying directly; the link just routes you correctly. Create an account on their site and follow their onboarding steps.