Python Software Engineer - Codebase Q&A Remote
Listing checked September 11, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
Mercor needs experienced Python engineers to build training data that helps AI agents reason through unfamiliar codebases. The Codebase Q&A track is a reinforcement-learning setting where agents learn to inspect and explain production Python code. You will design hard engineering questions around projects such as Django, Twisted, Scrapy, SymPy, mypy, pip, coverage.py, mitmproxy, Certbot, Tornado, Werkzeug, sqlfluff, and Meson. Each task pushes past single-file reading and demands runtime evidence. Work happens in Mercor Studio, remote and async, with pay per approved task.
What You'll Do6
- 1Pick tasks from a vetted pool of Python repositories pinned to a specific git commit. Each task arrives with an engineering question, positive and negative rubrics, foils, and a golden solution.
- 2Explore the repository until you understand the subsystem and the related PR or issue history.
- 3Rewrite each question so it defeats frontier coding agents while staying well-defined and answerable.
- 4Adjust rubrics and foils so they reward correct reasoning and reject plausible but wrong answers.
- 5Run the full validation loop in Studio: Check, Golden, Run, Analyze. Iterate until every stage passes.
- 6Document your work in the task README and submit it for expert review. Address reviewer feedback on returned tasks.
Requirements6
- 13+ years of professional software engineering experience with substantial production Python.
- 2Proven ability to navigate a large, unfamiliar Python codebase and explain how it behaves at runtime, not only what the source says.
- 3Fluency in Python internals that matter in real systems: import machinery, descriptors, metaclasses, async and event loops, packaging, and C-extension boundaries.
- 4Experience with web frameworks, developer tooling, type checkers, or scientific and numeric libraries. The task mix weights architecture and system design at 41% and code onboarding at 31%.
- 5Precise written English, since the questions and rubrics you write are the product.
- 6Comfort with git at commit level, containerized environments, and command-line tooling.
Who Should Apply
The right candidate has spent 3+ years writing production Python and can open an unfamiliar repository, trace runtime behavior, and explain the design behind it. You should handle import machinery, descriptors, async event loops, packaging, and C-extension boundaries, and you can write precise English that turns vague code questions into fair evaluations. This role suits people who enjoy git archaeology, containerized workflows, and command-line tooling. Candidates who only read source code without running it, or who prefer feature work over deep codebase investigation, find less value here. Common low-fit signals include weak written English in task descriptions and failure to show runtime-level Python knowledge across frameworks or tooling.
Salary Insight
Mercor pays $130 for each approved task, not an hourly or annual salary. The per-task model ties earnings to how many tasks pass expert review, so quality and iteration matter. No benefits or full-time salary appear in the source, and payment follows review by a second engineer and a super reviewer.
Pay and demand for Software Engineering roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$72/hour
This role
$130 fixed
Most Software Engineering roles pay $55–$90 per hour.
Based on 122 similar roles that publish pay · 13 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
- 150
- Listed in last 30 days
- 56
- Remote
- 93%
Hiring most right now: micro1 (88) · Mercor (21) · Turing (15)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- Python28%
- React20%
- Typescript17%
- JAVA17%
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Compensation
$130 fixed
Required Skills
Application Tip
In your resume or technical summary, name the production Python repositories you have navigated and describe one runtime bug or design question you resolved with evidence from code execution. Mention specific internals such as import machinery, descriptors, async event loops, or C-extension boundaries. Quantify your Python experience (3+ years) and point to any web framework, type checker, or scientific library work. That detail helps reviewers see you match the task mix, which leans toward architecture and code onboarding.
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