Application Security Engineer - Remote Contract
Listing checked September 22, 2026 · pay as published by Micro1
Overview
This is a remote contractor role with micro1, roughly 15 hours a week, where you build coding challenges that teach AI models to handle real software work. You will design tasks around feature implementation, bug fixes, and deterministic verifiers that separate valid solutions from everything else. The schedule is fully flexible, including weekends, and no AI background is needed. Your security and backend experience is what drives the work.
What You'll Do8
- 1Design realistic coding problems that involve adding features or repairing broken code.
- 2Write deterministic verifiers that accept any reasonable correct solution and reject all others.
- 3Create tasks that test how AI systems reason through backend and security scenarios.
- 4Review and refine submitted tasks to meet project specifications.
- 5Apply secure coding practices when shaping challenges around vulnerabilities or code reviews.
- 6Debug and improve performance of code samples used in the training tasks.
- 7Refactor large codebases to produce clean, testable examples for AI to solve.
- 8Collaborate with the team on task quality and consistency through code review feedback.
Requirements8
- 1Strong backend development experience in at least one of: Java, Node.js, Go, Rust, TypeScript, Python, or C++.
- 2Proven track record building scalable services and APIs.
- 3Comfort with debugging, performance tuning, and automated testing.
- 4Solid instincts for reviewing code and giving constructive feedback.
- 5Background in cybersecurity or SecOps is a major plus, including secure coding, appsec, pentesting, vulnerability assessment, OWASP, or CWE.
- 6Experience with codebase refactoring and implementing complex features in large applications.
- 7Strong grasp of algorithms, data structures, and core computer science concepts.
- 8Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and technical communication skills.
Who Should Apply
This role fits backend engineers who also have a security mindset, such as experience with pentesting, vulnerability assessment, or secure code reviews. You should be comfortable writing verifiers that are strict enough to reject wrong answers but fair enough to accept different valid approaches. Candidates who only have frontend experience or no exposure to debugging and performance work will find this role less suitable. A common reason applicants get rejected is submitting tasks that do not meet the minimum quality bar or verifiers that are too loose or too strict. Another is treating the assessment as a group effort, since the process expects your own judgment without outside help.
Salary Insight
Compensation ranges from $30 to $100 per hour, but pay is output-based. You are paid per task that meets the project specifications, and the time each task takes varies with your experience and workflow. Minimum submission requirements apply, including a set number of tasks per week.
Pay and demand for Quality Assurance & Testing roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$66/hour
This role
$30–$100/hr
Most Quality Assurance & Testing roles pay $45–$90 per hour. This role's pay falls inside that range.
Based on 368 similar roles that publish pay · 118 publish only a top rate; those count at the rate they gave
Rates shown per hour. Yearly and monthly pay converted; one-time fees and non-USD pay are not included.
- Live similar roles
- 425
- Listed in last 30 days
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- 96%
Hiring most right now: micro1 (144) · SME Careers (114) · Mercor (39)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- llm evaluation23%
- ai training20%
- python19%
- trainer feedback19%
Figures from Quality Assurance & Testing roles live on NearSkill when this page loaded. A role can close before you apply, so check the listing itself.
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Compensation
$30–100/hr
Required Skills
Application Tip
When you apply, highlight specific security work like pentesting, vulnerability assessment, or OWASP/CWE reviews, and pair it with concrete backend examples such as a scalable API you built or a performance bottleneck you fixed. Quantify results where you can, for example 'reduced API latency by 40%' or 'found and patched 12 critical vulnerabilities in a Java service.'
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