11D AGO

Principal Python Engineer — ML Infrastructure

Alignerr / Principal Python Engineer

RATE

$50-$75/HR

LOCATION

REMOTE (GLOBAL)

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DESCRIPTION

# Principal Python Engineer — ML Infrastructure (AI Training) ## About the Role What if your Python expertise could directly shape the infrastructure that powers the most advanced AI systems in the world? We're looking for a Principal Python Engineer in Austin to design and build the data pipelines, annotation tooling, and evaluation systems that leading AI labs depend on — real production work with real impact at scale. This is a fully remote, flexible contract role for a seasoned engineer who thrives in high-performance, distributed environments and wants to work on problems that matter. - **Organization**: Alignerr - **Type**: Hourly Contract - **Location**: Remote - **Commitment**: 20–40 hours/week ## What You'll Do * Design, build, and optimize high-performance Python systems that power AI data pipelines and evaluation workflows * Develop full-stack tooling and backend services for large-scale data annotation, validation, and quality control * Improve reliability, performance, and safety across production Python codebases * Identify bottlenecks and edge cases in data and system behavior — then implement scalable, elegant fixes * Collaborate with data, research, and engineering teams to support model training and evaluation workflows * Drive architectural and system design decisions through synchronous technical reviews ## Who You Are * Native or fluent English speaker with strong written and verbal communication skills * Senior full-stack developer with a strong systems programming background * 5+ years of professional experience writing production Python for large-scale infrastructure or platform engineering * Deep expertise in designing distributed computing systems and managing concurrency with advanced asynchronous patterns * Intimately familiar with Python internals — GIL limitations, memory profiling, and performance optimization for compute-heavy workloads * Able to drive technical strategy and architectural decisions clearly and confidently * Available to commit 20–40 hours per week ## Nice to Have * Prior experience with data annotation, data quality, or model evaluation systems * Familiarity with AI/ML workflows, model training pipelines, or benchmarking infrastructure * Experience with distributed systems architecture or internal developer tooling ## Why Join Us * Work directly with leading AI research labs on production systems that shape next-generation models * Fully remote and flexible — structure your work around your life, not the other way around * Freelance autonomy with the substance of high-impact, technically demanding work * Collaborate with top engineers and researchers on problems at the frontier of AI infrastructure * Potential for ongoing engagement and expanded scope as projects grow