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Software Engineering micro1

Software Engineer

Micro1 • Remote

Education

Master's

Type

Per task

Pay Rate

$50–$100/task

Actively Hiring

100 openings

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What We Know About This Role

Weekly hours
10–15 hrs/week
Start timeline
Starts within 24–48 hrs of onboarding

About this role

From the Micro1 listing

Role Title: Senior Software Engineer Role Type: Contractor (~15 hrs a week) Location: Remote micro1 is selecting Software Engineers to support a customer’s innovative project. In this role, you'll apply your expertise to help train next-generation AI systems. Your work will shape how models learn, reason, and perform through high-quality, real-world input. No prior experience in AI is required — your domain knowledge is what matters. As an expert you will be creating Reinforcement Learning Environments which test and AI model's ability to solve complex software engineering problems related to fixing code, creating features, refactoring code and optimizing performance. You will be tasked with creating a reproducible environment and golden reference solution for the problem.

Scope of Work

  • On this project, you will create realistic, interesting, and extremely challenging coding tasks for frontier AI models using your favourite repositories!
  • You will design problems that require strong software engineering skills, such as tracking down subtle bugs, building non-trivial features, or improving performance.
  • For each task, you will define the problem, build a reproducible environment, and write deterministic verifiers that accept correct solutions across different valid implementations while rejecting incorrect, incomplete, or hard-coded approaches. You will also provide a reference solution showing how the task can be solved.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Significant hands-on expertise in at least one of the following: Python3, Java, Rust, Go, C++, or TypeScript.
  • Deep understanding of algorithms, data structures, and software engineering principles.
  • Proven ability to debug complex systems, resolve bugs, and deliver effective optimizations.
  • Experience with large codebase refactoring and legacy system modernization.
  • Track record of delivering high-impact features from conception through delivery within cross-functional projects.
  • Strong documentation and communication skills to articulate technical concepts clearly.
  • Interest in or curiosity about AI and its technical challenges (previous AI experience not required).

Compensation Structure

Compensation is output-based; experts are paid per task that meets the project specifications. The time required to complete work may vary depending on the expert’s experience and workflow. Minimum submission requirements apply. Experts must submit a minimum of tasks per week.

Start Timeline & Availability

We typically fill roles within 48 hours and are looking for experts ready to jump in right away. If selected, we expect you to start your first tasks within 24–48 hours of completing onboarding.

Requirements

  • Python3
  • JAVA
  • Rust
  • Algorithms
  • Basics C++
  • Typescript
  • bug fixing

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.

Within 2 weeks
~25%
Within 6 weeks
~60%
Within 3 months
~80%

Interview Prep

Sample questions for a Software Engineer role, written in-house to help you prepare.

How do you approach designing a system when the requirements are still likely to change?

I design around the parts of the problem I'm confident are stable, like the core data model, and keep the parts most likely to change, like specific business rules, isolated behind clear interfaces. Over-engineering flexibility everywhere just adds complexity to parts of the system that were never going to change.

What's your process for debugging an issue that only reproduces in production, not locally?

I add targeted logging around the suspected area and compare production data or configuration against my local setup, since an issue that's environment-specific usually traces back to a real difference between the two rather than a fundamentally different bug. I avoid making speculative changes without first confirming where the divergence is.

How do you decide when a piece of code needs a test versus when it's low-risk enough to skip?

I prioritize tests for logic with real business consequences if it breaks, or code that's likely to be touched again later by someone unfamiliar with it. Simple, rarely-changed glue code gets less coverage, since the cost of a thorough test there often exceeds the risk it's protecting against.

How do you evaluate a proposed technical solution's trade-offs, like performance versus maintainability?

I start from the actual constraint that matters for this specific system, whether that's genuinely performance-critical or whether maintainability is the bigger long-term cost, rather than defaulting to whichever trade-off I personally prefer. Optimizing for performance the system doesn't need just adds complexity nobody benefits from.

See all 10 questions for this role →

This listing calls for these tools directly. Prep for the technical screen:

Key responsibilities

  • On this project, you will create realistic, interesting, and extremely challenging coding tasks for frontier AI models using your favourite repositories!
  • You will design problems that require strong software engineering skills, such as tracking down subtle bugs, building non-trivial features, or improving performance.
  • For each task, you will define the problem, build a reproducible environment, and write deterministic verifiers that accept correct solutions across different valid implementations while rejecting incorrect, incomplete, or hard-coded approaches. You will also provide a reference solution showing how the task can be solved.

Why this role

This Software Engineer role pays $50-$70 per hour for grading developer-style evaluation tasks hands-on: running through pull requests, CI/CD workflows, issue tracking, and version control the way an engineer would on the job, then verifying whether the output holds up inside real development environments. Part of the work is building and maintaining reproducible test environments, complete with real commit histories and CI workflows, and troubleshooting integrations and authentication flows across different services. Micro1 wants at least three years of professional software engineering experience, solid Git/GitHub workflow skills, GitHub Actions know-how, and comfort scripting in Python or Bash to automate setup and reset tasks.

Skills and categories

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Common questions

What does the Micro1 application process look like?

Expect a screening interview with Zara, Micro1's AI recruiter. Prepare for it like a real video call: good lighting, clear audio, verbal answers to technical questions. A human manager reviews the recording afterward, and some roles add a short skills assessment on top.

Can I apply to Micro1 from outside the US or UK?

Yes. Micro1 accepts applicants from most countries worldwide, unlike DataAnnotation or Outlier, both of which cap access to a handful of English-speaking countries. Most roles still require strong written and spoken English.

What does task-based AI training work look like?

Practical, hands-on data work: recording short videos, categorizing images, rating text responses, or analyzing data. Tasks are designed to be short and distinct, typically 5 to 60 minutes each.

What does asynchronous AI training work mean in practice?

No set hours, no check-ins, no meetings. You log in when you want, pick up an available task, complete it, and submit; nobody is waiting on you in real time. That's different from remote employment, where you're expected online during business hours. The tradeoff: you're competing with others for available tasks, so an empty queue means there's simply nothing to do until more work is released.

What does Software Engineering work look like for a Software Engineer?

Tasks here are scoped to Software Engineering, not generic labeling. As a Software Engineer, expect to draw on real domain judgment (evaluating outputs, correcting errors, or providing expert reasoning specific to Software Engineering) rather than following a one-size-fits-all rubric. If you don't have hands-on Software Engineering background, this is likely not the right listing to start with.

What specific skills does this listing call for?

Python3, JAVA, Rust, and Algorithms 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 many hours per week does this role require?

Based on the listing, this role is scoped at 10–15 hours per week. Treat this as a real commitment expectation, not a loose estimate.

What does the 'openings' count on this listing mean?

It's Micro1's live count of how many candidates it's still trying to place for this specific role, 100 right now, not a countdown on your individual application. A higher number signals more active demand; it doesn't lower the bar for acceptance.

How much does this specific role pay?

This listing is posted at $50–$100/task, a per-task rate. The range reflects experience level and negotiated terms, not a placeholder, so where you land in it depends on your background and the assessment. 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.

How does per-task pay translate to an hourly rate?

It doesn't directly, that's the catch. Each task has a listed price and an estimated completion time, but your actual effective rate depends on how fast you work. If a task is estimated at 20 minutes and pays $8, that is $24/hr for a fast worker and $12/hr for a slow one. Track your actual time on the first few tasks before treating the listed rate as your real hourly income.

What happens when I click Apply on this listing?

You'll be taken to Micro1'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.

Do I need a Master's to qualify?

This role lists a master's degree as a requirement. In practice, the domain assessment is the real gate. If you can pass it, the degree is usually secondary. However, some platforms verify credentials formally, so list your actual qualifications accurately on your profile.