Strategic Project Lead, Code

About Mercor

Mercor is at the intersection of labor markets and AI research. We partner with leading AI labs and enterprises to provide the human intelligence essential to AI development.

Our vast talent network trains frontier AI models in the same way teachers teach students: by sharing knowledge experience and context that cant be captured in code alone. Today more than 30000 experts in our network collectively earn over $1.5 million a day.

Mercor is creating a new category of work where expertise powers AI advancement. Achieving this requires an ambitious fast-paced and deeply committed team. Youll work alongside researchers operators and AI companies at the forefront of shaping the systems that are redefining society.

Mercor is a profitable Series C company valued at $10 billion. We work in-person five days a week in our new San Francisco headquarters.

Role Overview

Work Hours: Monday-Saturday (Office Monday-Friday)

Were looking for a Strategic Project Lead Code someone with software engineering experience who wants to take ownership of large-scale technical projects that blend engineering systems design and people leadership.

Youll lead projects involving hundreds of engineers and contributors building the technical and operational systems that keep massive AI training data pipelines running smoothly. Youll architect workflows implement the right processes and lead execution alongside a team of talented operators and technical leads while building relationships with the worlds leading researchers at foundation model companies.

This role combines technical design systems thinking and high-stakes delivery ideal for an engineer who thrives on both building and leading.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and build scalable pipelines and systems to manage large-scale AI data and model programs.

• Lead and manage teams of hundreds of contributors ensuring alignment throughput and execution consistency.

• Define technical architecture and process flows for how data code and evaluation tasks move through systems.

• Write scripts queries and code to support performance monitoring metrics and quality control.

• Drive daily execution and unblock teams from technical debugging to resource allocation.

• Interface with client engineering and research teams translating high-level goals into executable workflows.

• Set up systems of accountability metrics dashboards feedback loops and escalation paths.

• Continuously optimize for speed quality and cost balancing technical precision with delivery pragmatism.

Must-Have Profile

• 2 years as a software engineer data science or technical founder.
  Strong technical foundation very comfortable with Python and knowledge of other popular languages like Javascript/Typescript Go etc.

• Familiarity with basic cloud or orchestration tools (AWS/GCP containers etc.).

• Exceptional organizational and communication skills; thrives in ambiguity and complexity.

• High bias toward action takes ownership and drives outcomes independently.

Nice to Have

• Experience leading large-scale data RL or AI operations.

• Understanding of system design distributed workflows or engineering at scale.

• Background in fast-paced environments (startups consulting or forward-deployed roles).

• Fluency with modern AI concepts including familiarity with AI agents and a strong eagerness to keep up with the latest research.

• Proven ability to work cross functionally with distributed engineering teams.

How You Work

• Hands-on leader: builds and executes alongside the team.

• Systems thinker: sees how technical and human components connect.

• Operator at heart: thrives under pressure drives clarity and closes loops.

• Builder mentality: improves whats working and scales it fast.

Key Facts

• Projects can exceed $10M in annual revenue.

• Involves leading hundreds of engineers or contributors across technical and operational domains.

• High-intensity high-ownership role critical to the success of frontier AI programs.

Growth Path

• Start as an SPL Code running major delivery programs end-to-end.

• Advance to Senior SPL Code leading multiple programs and mentoring a team of SPLs.
  

Compensation & Benefits

• Base: $120K $200K

• Aggressive bi-annual performance bonus

• Generous equity (4-year vest)

• $20K relocation bonus (Bay Area)

• $10K housing bonus (within 0.5 miles of the office)

• $1K monthly meals stipend

• Free Equinox membership

• Comprehensive health insurance

Equal Opportunity

Mercor considers all qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics and provides reasonable accommodations upon request.

Required Experience:

Senior IC