
Security Engineer - Cryptanalysis (Remote Contract)
Listing checked October 29, 2026 · pay as published by AfterQuery
Key details
- Pay
- $135/hr
- Location
- Remote
- Job type
- contract
- Posted
- August 4, 2026
Overview
AfterQuery is putting together a research cohort of senior security specialists who know cryptanalysis and reverse engineering at a working, hands-on level. The job centers on judging how frontier AI models handle hard problems that real practitioners face, not on shipping production code. You decide what a correct answer looks like, write the reference solution behind it, and set the bar for what counts as excellent. Most of the work happens on your own schedule, in writing, alongside people who share your specialty.
What You'll Do7
- Build problem sets that mirror the security work you already handle, sized to test how a model reasons.
- Write reference answers that hold up to scrutiny from other specialists in cryptanalysis and reverse engineering.
- Define grading rubrics that separate a plausible answer from a correct one.
- Score AI responses on accuracy, depth of reasoning, and whether the judgment holds up in the field.
- Explain your scoring in writing so researchers and reviewers can follow the logic.
- Flag answers that look right but break under real conditions.
- Keep scenarios aligned with the difficulty bar the research team sets.
Requirements7
- 6 to 10 years of hands-on security work, plus a bachelor's degree (master's preferred).
- Current or recent practice in the field; purely academic-adjacent backgrounds do not fit.
- Clear technical writing, since the output is explanations and structured feedback.
- Comfort working alone on an asynchronous, remote schedule.
- Bonus: published research, open-source work, or other recognized output in your track.
- Bonus: experience reviewing, grading, or editing other people's technical work.
- Bonus: CTF play, reverse engineering, or cryptanalysis depth.
Who Should Apply
A security practitioner with 6 to 10 years in the field who can defend a technical judgment in writing. You have shipped or published real work in reverse engineering or cryptanalysis and can grade another expert's answer without hedging.
Salary Insight
$135 per hour for this role, inside the $100 to $170 band AfterQuery quotes, with placement scaled to experience. Hourly expert-network rates for security research and evaluation sit in that same range, so the number tracks seniority more than the task list.
Pay and demand for AI Training roles
Market estimates from live NearSkill listings — separate from this job's published terms.
This role · as published
$135/hr
Taken from the listing itself.
Typical pay · estimated
$70/hour
Median of 1,280 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
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