Open Source Maintainer Expert
Listing checked October 29, 2026 · pay as published by AfterQuery
Key details
- Pay
- $150/hr
- Location
- Remote
- Job type
- contract
- Posted
- October 27, 2026
Overview
AfterQuery needs maintainers of established open source projects to judge real engineering work for a paid, remote project. You read code the same way you read a pull request on your own repository: checking correctness, design choices and whether a change holds up over time. Assignments run 5 to 20 hours a week and each review takes about 30 minutes, so the work fits around the projects you already maintain. GitHub history carries real weight here, since the team wants people with merged work and a record of reviewing other people's pull requests, not occasional contributors.
What You'll Do6
- Read proposed changes and judge correctness, design and whether the code stays maintainable.
- Put feedback in writing that names what works and what fails, with enough detail for the author to act on it.
- Call out bugs, security holes and edge cases the author overlooked.
- Hold the same bar from one review to the next so judgments stay consistent.
- Assess the overall quality of engineering work other developers submit.
- Finish each review task in about 30 minutes.
Requirements7
- You maintain or contribute at the core of an open source project with at least 1,000 GitHub stars, or you review there on a regular basis.
- A record of merged work in established repositories plus a history of reviewing other people's pull requests.
- Three or more years of public GitHub activity.
- Strong written English, since every judgment arrives as text.
- Maintainership of a widely used library, framework or developer tool stands out.
- Review experience across more than one language or ecosystem helps.
- Professional software engineering experience is a plus.
Who Should Apply
The right person already maintains or reviews for a project with real users, such as a library, framework or developer tool past 1,000 stars, with years of pull requests they have judged. Occasional contributors will find this bar out of reach.
Salary Insight
$150/hr. Open source review and bounty work often pays far less per hour, so this rate reflects the seniority bar the team sets: a maintainer with three or more years of public GitHub history. With 5 to 20 hours a week, treat it as steady side income rather than a full-time replacement.
Pay and demand for Developer Relations roles
Market estimates from live NearSkill listings — separate from this job's published terms.
This role · as published
$150/hr
Taken from the listing itself.
Typical pay · estimated
$60/hour
Median of 47 similar roles that publish pay · 9 publish only a top rate; those count at the rate they gave
Most Developer Relations roles pay $46–$82 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.
- Live similar roles
- 55
- Listed in last 30 days
- 29
- Remote
- 85%
Hiring most right now: micro1 (19) · SME Careers (9) · AfterQuery (5)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- code review31%
- python22%
- debugging20%
- javascript16%
Figures from Developer Relations roles live on NearSkill when this page loaded. A role can close before you apply, so check the listing itself.
Compare your resume against these rolesRequired skills
How applying works
1. Pre-screen on NearSkill
A quick application on NearSkill checks your fit against this role.
2. Finish on the employer’s site
We hand you to AfterQuery’s official application page to complete the form.
3. Wait for a response
The employer’s hiring team reviews applications and gets back to you.
Similar jobs
Open roles that match this listing's skills and level.
micro1Open Source GitHub Maintainer – Remote Contract
MercorOpen Source Maintainer / Core Contributor – Software Engineer
micro1Open Source Contributor – Remote Contract
MercorOpen Source Applied Engineer Talent Network
AfterQuerySoftware Engineering Expert
micro1