Expert Cloud Engineer - Remote AI Contract
Listing checked October 29, 2026 · pay as published by AfterQuery
Key details
- Pay
- $125/hr
- Location
- Remote
- Job type
- contract
- Posted
- August 27, 2026
Overview
AfterQuery produces the evaluation and training data that frontier AI labs rely on to measure how well their models handle real professional work. Cloud engineers on this team write the infrastructure and automation scenarios those evaluations run on, then judge how well a model reasons through them. A typical week might involve drafting an AWS architecture, then tearing apart a Terraform config to see whether a model caught the flaw that would blow up the bill. The work runs async with no fixed schedule, and contributors commit at least 10 hours each week. Rates sit between $85 and $165 per hour, set from your experience and sent through Stripe every week.
What You'll Do6
- Build realistic cloud scenarios that stretch from the first architecture sketch through incident response.
- Write reference answers that make the reasoning behind each architectural decision explicit.
- Grade model output on correctness, security posture and cost efficiency.
- Flag configurations that look sound on paper yet would break or overspend once deployed.
- Document the operational logic behind your judgments so reviewers can follow the trail.
- Concentrate scenario work on your specialty, whether that is networking, containers, serverless or cost control.
Requirements8
- Two or more years of professional cloud engineering on AWS, Azure or GCP.
- Hands-on infrastructure as code work with Terraform, CloudFormation or a comparable tool.
- Recognized depth in at least one domain such as networking, containers, serverless or cost optimization.
- Written English clear enough to explain an architecture decision to a reader who was not in the room.
- Capacity for at least 10 hours per week, with no ceiling above that.
- Preferred: a certification such as AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Administrator or GCP Professional.
- Preferred: Kubernetes and container orchestration experience.
- Preferred: multi-cloud work or large-scale migration projects.
Who Should Apply
A working cloud engineer with two or more years on AWS, Azure or GCP who can defend an architecture decision in writing. You have shipped infrastructure as code, know one domain deeply, and catch a config that would fail or overspend before it reaches production.
Salary Insight
$125/hr is the posted rate for this role, and it sits inside AfterQuery's wider $85 to $165/hr band, where each contributor's number follows their experience rather than a later negotiation. Payouts arrive weekly through Stripe, contractor status applies, and you choose your own hours above a 10-hour floor.
Pay and demand for AI Training roles
Market estimates from live NearSkill listings — separate from this job's published terms.
This role · as published
$125/hr
Taken from the listing itself.
Typical pay · estimated
$70/hour
Median of 1,322 similar roles that publish pay · 301 publish only a top rate; those count at the rate they gave
Most AI Training roles pay $40–$95 per hour. This role's pay sits above that range.
Rates shown per hour. Yearly and monthly pay converted; one-time fees and non-USD pay are not included.
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Most requested skills · share of roles
- ai evaluation13%
- llm evaluation12%
- data annotation11%
- ai training11%
Figures from AI Training roles live on NearSkill when this page loaded. A role can close before you apply, so check the listing itself.
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