MercorCoding & software eval
CAD / PCB / 3D Design Engineer: AI Evaluation
up to $100/hr
About this role, in Mercor's words
Mercor is partnering with a leading AI lab to measure how well frontier AI models perform real engineering design work. We're hiring experienced CAD, PCB, and 3D design engineers to build realistic, difficult design tasks that expose where AI still falls short.
What you'll do
- Turn real design work from your field into self-contained tasks: a prompt, input files (STEP, KiCad projects, .blend files, meshes), and an automated grader
- Build and iterate on tasks with an AI coding agent (Claude Code) and version them in Git
- Run each task against frontier models, read the model transcripts, and close leaks and shortcuts until the task is hard for the right reasons
Show all 5 itemsHide the other 2 in What you'll do
- Pass automated QA and peer review, and document the rationale behind any synthetic data you create
- Attend onboarding and calibration sessions
Candidate background
You're a Good Fit If You
- Have 3+ years of hands-on design experience in at least one track (industry, research lab, or serious freelance work)
- For the Mechanical CAD track: have hands-on professional experience with SolidWorks, AutoCAD, FreeCAD, or a comparable CAD tool
- Have shipped real deliverables: fabricated boards, manufactured parts, production 3D assets, or published research
- Can share a portfolio of your own design work (a portfolio link is required to apply)
- Write Python as part of your engineering work and are comfortable with the command line and Git
- Can judge whether a design is actually correct, not just whether it looks right
Quoted from selected sections of Mercor's posting. The full posting may state other conditions. Read the full posting
A closer look
More context, when you need it.
Full job descriptionThe original posting, in Mercor's words
Posted by Mercor, reproduced here so you can judge the role before clicking. Original posting ↗
About the Role Mercor is partnering with a leading AI lab to measure how well frontier AI models perform real engineering design work. We're hiring experienced CAD, PCB, and 3D design engineers to build realistic, difficult design tasks that expose where AI still falls short.
You'll design a realistic engineering problem (a prompt, input files, and a grader that checks the result), run it against frontier models, and refine it until it is fair, realistic, and hard. Realism always comes before difficulty.
We're Hiring Across Three Tracks
• Mechanical CAD: parts, assemblies, mechanisms, and tolerancing. Professional experience with SolidWorks, AutoCAD, FreeCAD, or a comparable CAD tool is the baseline; Siemens NX and/or CATIA experience is highly valued. Tasks are built with code-based CAD (build123d, CadQuery, OpenCASCADE) and mesh tools (trimesh, manifold3d, Open3D)
• Electronics / PCB: schematic capture, layout, DRC/ERC, footprints, and enclosure fit using KiCad (kicad-cli, pcbnew Python API); openEMS or RF/EM simulation is a plus
• 3D / Spatial-Temporal: scene construction, animation, rigging, physics, and camera work in headless Blender driven by Python, plus rendering with PyVista/VTK
What You'll Do
• Turn real design work from your field into self-contained tasks: a prompt, input files (STEP, KiCad projects, .blend files, meshes), and an automated grader
• Build and iterate on tasks with an AI coding agent (Claude Code) and version them in Git
• Run each task against frontier models, read the model transcripts, and close leaks and shortcuts until the task is hard for the right reasons
• Pass automated QA and peer review, and document the rationale behind any synthetic data you create
• Attend onboarding and calibration sessions
You're a Good Fit If You
• Have 3+ years of hands-on design experience in at least one track (industry, research lab, or serious freelance work)
• For the Mechanical CAD track: have hands-on professional experience with SolidWorks, AutoCAD, FreeCAD, or a comparable CAD tool
• Have shipped real deliverables: fabricated boards, manufactured parts, production 3D assets, or published research
• Can share a portfolio of your own design work (a portfolio link is required to apply)
• Write Python as part of your engineering work and are comfortable with the command line and Git
• Can judge whether a design is actually correct, not just whether it looks right
Bonus Qualifications
• Siemens NX and/or CATIA experience (parts, assemblies, surfacing, drawings, or PLM such as Teamcenter/ENOVIA)
• Experience scripting design tools: build123d/CadQuery, FreeCAD Python, NX Open, KiCad scripting, or Blender's Python API (bpy)
• FEA, CFD, circuit, or EM simulation experience
• Degree (BS/MS/PhD) in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, Robotics, Computer Graphics, or a related field
• Prior AI training, benchmark, or evaluation work, or heavy daily use of AI coding agents
Role Highlights
• Minimum 20 hours per week, active at least 5 days per week
• Role starts immediately, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis
Working with MercorPay, getting started and work, from Mercor's own pages
What the platform publishes in general. These are not extra terms confirmed for this particular role.
- Getting paid
- Hourly work is paid every Wednesday for the previous week, through Stripe Connect or Wise, whichever Mercor assigns to your region. Stripe holds the first payout for 7 days. talent.docs.mercor.com/how-to/payments, talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/contracts
- Before your first paid task
- An AI interview of about 20 minutes, reused for other roles that need it, then any assessments the role asks for. Before logging hours: ID verification through Persona, a tax form, the contract documents, the Insightful time tracker, and a background check the onboarding guide says usually takes one to two weeks. talent.docs.mercor.com/support/ai-interview, talent.docs.mercor.com/how-to/apply, talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/contracts, talent.docs.mercor.com/how-to/id-verification, talent.docs.mercor.com/working/project-onboarding
- How much work
- Hearing back after the AI interview usually takes 2 to 4 weeks. When a project ends you are not moved to a new one automatically. talent.docs.mercor.com/support/ai-interview, talent.docs.mercor.com/support/project
- Contract
- Independent contractor with Mercor.io Corporation of San Francisco, which deducts no taxes. talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/taxes-work-authorization, talent.docs.mercor.com/support/legal
Read on the pages linked above on 23 Sep 2026. Platforms change these terms, so check the linked page before you rely on one.
Alex's experience on MercorA personal account, not a promise about your project
Alexruns this site and has worked on Mercor himself. Written 31 Aug 2026.
- Every interview I took used an AI interviewer. They always checked my microphone and camera and asked me to share my screen, and some included a timed exercise of around 25 minutes.
- Many later applications needed no new interview from me. With the required assessments complete and no other outstanding steps, applying could be close to one click.
- The application I checked did not ask for a rate. My offer matched my minimum in Work Preferences. That does not establish that Mercor always caps higher offers at your preference.
- Onboarding and setup came to about 4 hours, with more security and tool setup. Of the three platforms I worked on, it was the most complicated for me. That is an estimate from my projects, not a platform average.
- Mercor required the Insightful tracker on my project. I observed app and website usage monitoring, and I am unsure which screenshot settings applied, so check the configuration.
- I was paid for hours logged, once every 14 days, and I have not experienced late or incorrect payments. That was my arrangement. Mercor's current documentation describes weekly payout cycles, so check your own offer.
One person's applications, not a promise about yours.
What happens after you apply, first-handHow does the pay compare?Across Coding & software eval roles, not this role alone
From our own daily reads of every open listing on the platforms we follow, not from Mercor's posting. How we count.
Pay across the field: Coding & software eval
Across 393 roles in this field with a stated hourly rate in US dollars, on 14 platforms, the middle half pays $65 to $120 an hour at the top of the range, and the median is $95. This role's top rate, $100, is in the middle half. Of the 140 distinct rates we count, 73 are lower and 54 are higher.
| Platform | Roles | Top of range, per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Alignerr | 137 | $50 to $400 · median $100 |
| micro1 | 46 | $35 to $350 · median $110 |
| Handshake AI | 43 | $47 to $125 · median $80 |
| Meridial (Invisible) | 34 | $22 to $150 · median $60 |
| Mercor (this platform) | 32 | $60 to $200 · median $110 |
Sources and listing historyWhere this information comes from
This listing's history
- First seen here on 12 Oct 2026, and still on Mercor's list when we last read it on 13 Oct 2026.
- The listed pay has not changed since then.
- Posted by Mercor
- First seen by AIPayList
- Last seen live
- Listing ID
- list_AAABoRF0_T8Qt6YeWGBHI7oe
Pay as the source states it: “60–100 USD HOUR”.
Platforms sometimes change a rate after posting. Every listing here is re-read at least once a day and corrected when its source moves, so a difference you see on the platform is usually a change made since the last read. How freshness works.
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