Machine Learning Engineer – Remote Contract
Listing checked September 17, 2026 · pay as published by Micro1
Overview
This is a fully remote contractor role for a Machine Learning Engineer, paying $80–$150 per hour for roughly 15 hours per week. You will work on an AI training project that involves model development, training and inference systems, numerical computing, and performance optimization. The work is very coding heavy, and you must be comfortable using coding agents with Python in your daily workflow. Tasks include creating, solving, reviewing, and validating challenging ML engineering problems, often requiring you to implement or modify models, build reproducible training or inference pipelines, optimize memory or throughput, and debug numerical or system-level failures. The schedule is flexible, so you choose your hours and days, including weekends if you want.
What You'll Do9
- 1Develop and validate machine learning models, training pipelines, inference systems, and supporting infrastructure.
- 2Implement model components, data pipelines, evaluation systems, and numerical methods.
- 3Build reproducible programmatic workflows using Python and command-line tools.
- 4Create, solve, review, and validate challenging machine learning engineering tasks.
- 5Implement or modify models to meet objective correctness and performance requirements.
- 6Construct reproducible training or inference workflows.
- 7Optimize memory usage or throughput in ML systems.
- 8Debug numerical or system-level failures in model code.
- 9Verify that implementations satisfy correctness and performance specifications.
Requirements7
- 1Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, or a closely related quantitative discipline.
- 2Strong professional or research experience in machine learning.
- 3Practical proficiency with Python and coding agents.
- 4Experience with tools such as PyTorch, JAX, NumPy, SciPy, SGLang, vLLM, llama.cpp, Hugging Face Transformers, or Hugging Face Tokenizers.
- 5Equivalent tools may be considered if you demonstrate directly relevant depth.
- 6Experience at a well-established technology company, AI laboratory, research organization, or other recognized engineering environment is strongly preferred.
- 7Exceptional open-source or academic experience may also qualify.
Who Should Apply
The ideal candidate holds a master’s or PhD in a quantitative field and has strong professional or research experience in machine learning. You should be highly proficient in Python and comfortable using coding agents as part of your workflow, with hands-on exposure to frameworks like PyTorch, JAX, or vLLM. This role is less suitable for someone who prefers a fixed 9-to-5 schedule or who is not comfortable with output-based compensation. Candidates often get rejected when they lack direct experience with coding agents or cannot demonstrate depth in numerical computing and performance optimization. Another common reason for low fit scores is not having a graduate degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent recognized experience.
Salary Insight
The pay range is $80 to $150 per hour. Compensation is output-based, meaning you are paid per task that meets the project specifications. The time required to complete each task may vary depending on your experience and workflow. Minimum submission requirements apply.
Pay and demand for Machine Learning & AI roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$75/hour
This role
$80–$150/hr
Most Machine Learning & AI roles pay $55–$100 per hour. This role's pay sits above that range.
Based on 513 similar roles that publish pay · 90 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
- 570
- Listed in last 30 days
- 252
- Remote
- 97%
Hiring most right now: micro1 (262) · Mercor (79) · SME Careers (60)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- python17%
- technical writing9%
- llm evaluation8%
- data annotation7%
Figures from Machine Learning & AI 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
$80–150/hr
Required Skills
Application Tip
In your application, highlight specific projects where you used Python with coding agents to build or optimize ML training or inference pipelines. Quantify improvements in memory or throughput, and name the exact tools you used, such as PyTorch, JAX, or vLLM, to show direct relevance.
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