Mercor · Software & coding
Expert Specialized Systems Engineer – PHP / Fortran / Slang - review AI outputs in your specialty
Listed on Mercor as “Expert Specialized Systems Engineer - PHP / Fortran / Slang”
What this actually is
You review AI-generated code, rank model outputs against each other, write prompts that test edge cases, and provide expert feedback that gets used to train coding models. Not shipping production software. The platform title (Expert Specialized Systems Engineer - PHP / Fortran / Slang) reflects the rate band and the expertise required, not the day-to-day work.
Can you do this on your visa?
F-2 / F-4 / F-5 / F-6: open. E-1 to E-7: needs concurrent-employment permit. D-2 / D-4 students: S-3 permit, 20 hr/week cap. D-10 / D-8: case by case.
Korean tax on USD income
First 5 years in Korea: foreign-source income only taxed if remitted into Korea. After year 5: worldwide income. Full tax guide.
Original posting from Mercor
About the Opportunity
A leading AI research organization is evaluating how advanced AI systems perform in specialized engineering domains, and is seeking expert engineers with deep, hands-on experience in PHP, Fortran, and/or Slang. You'll apply your expertise to assess complex, real-world technical scenarios - directly shaping how cutting-edge AI performs across web, scientific-computing, and graphics domains. _Single-language specialists are strongly encouraged to apply._
What You'll Do
- Apply your language expertise to evaluate technical tasks against real-world professional standards
- Review intricate code-level situations and provide precise, structured written assessments
- Work inside containerized repositories (Docker), running and interpreting programmatic and CI-style checks to judge whether an engineering environment is sound
- Provide clear written rationales explaining your expert judgments
- Complete well-defined, time-bounded tasks with explicit evaluation criteria
Who We're Looking For
We value strong engineering fundamentals, fast ramp-up, and high ownership over single-language pedigree alone - but deep specialists are very welcome. The ideal candidate brings:
- 5+ years of professional or research experience in one or more of:
- _PHP_ - modern PHP (8+); Laravel or Symfony; large-scale web backends
- _Fortran_ - modern Fortran (90/95/2003+); MPI or OpenMP parallelization; HPC, scientific computing, CFD, or computational physics
- _Slang_ - GPU shader and graphics programming; real-time rendering; DirectX, Vulkan, or CUDA workflows; NVIDIA Falcor or similar frameworks
- Comfort working in Linux/Docker-based repo environments and reading automated/CI checks - or the ability to ramp on these fast
- Ability to articulate not just _what_ code does but _why_ it's correct or idiomatic, clearly in writing
- _Welcomed:_ engineers from web-platform, HPC/national-lab/academic, or graphics-research and game-engine backgrounds; non-traditional digital footprints are fine - a GitHub profile is not required
Why This Work Matters
PHP, Fortran, and Slang underpin the modern web, scientific computing, and GPU graphics respectively - domains with rare depth in AI research. Your assessments directly influence how AI systems learn to operate in them.
Engagement Details
- Compensation: $100-200/hour, based on language, domain, and experience
- Expected commitment: 20-40 hrs/week
- Task flow is variable - work tends to arrive in waves, and there can be a lag between task batches. We're looking for people who stay flexible, including availability on weekends when needed, and who take ownership of keeping the project moving forward
- No proprietary tooling required - tasks are completable without employer-provided systems
Quoted from Mercor’s public listing on 2026-06-02. We don’t edit platform copy; honest framing is in the title and the “what this actually is” block above.
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About Mercor
AI-interview-based talent network. One application, voice interview with their AI, then matched to projects across coding, research, and specialist work. Pay scales with track and seniority.
Mercor review: AI-interview talent network
4.1/5 on Glassdoor, fastest-growing platform in the category (+509% YoY). What the AI video interview actually asks, real pay across coding/research/medical/legal/finance tracks ($25-$200/hr), and the project-availability problem.
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