Backend & Tooling Engineer (Rust)

About The RoleWhat if your Rust expertise could directly shape the infrastructure powering the next generation of AI? We're looking for a senior Rust engineer to build and optimize the high-performance systems that leading AI labs depend on — from data pipelines and annotation tooling to evaluation frameworks that influence how frontier models are trained and measured.This is a fully remote contract role working on real production systems at the cutting edge of AI development. If you care deeply about performance, correctness, and building tools that engineers actually love using, this is the role for you.Organization: AlignerrType: Hourly ContractLocation: RemoteCommitment: 20–40 hours/weekWhat You'll DoDesign, build, and optimize high-performance Rust systems supporting large-scale AI data pipelines and evaluation workflowsDevelop full-stack backend services and CLI tooling for data annotation, validation, and quality controlImprove reliability, performance, and safety across existing Rust codebasesCollaborate with data, research, and engineering teams to support model training and evaluation infrastructureIdentify bottlenecks and edge cases in data and system behavior, and implement scalable, production-ready fixesParticipate in synchronous design reviews to iterate on system architecture and implementation decisionsWho You AreNative or fluent English speaker with clear written and verbal communication skills5+ years of professional experience writing production-grade RustProven ability to build high-performance backend web services and robust, user-friendly CLI toolsExperienced with type-safe database interactions and connection pooling for large-scale data workloadsAble to commit 20–40 hours per week with reliability and consistencySelf-directed and comfortable working asynchronously across distributed teamsNice to HavePrior experience with data annotation, data quality pipelines, or model evaluation systemsFamiliarity with AI/ML workflows, model training, or benchmarking infrastructureExperience with distributed systems architecture or developer-facing toolingBackground in performance profiling and systems-level optimizationWhy Join UsWork directly with leading AI labs on systems that matter — this is real infrastructure, not toy projectsFully remote and flexible — work from anywhere on a schedule that fits your lifeFreelance autonomy with the structure and engagement of meaningful, high-impact engineering workCollaborate with sharp, mission-driven engineers and researchers at the frontier of AI developmentPotential for ongoing work and contract extension as projects scale and evolve