Handshake

Evaluate AI-generated code and content, provide feedback, and assist in improving AI understanding of programming tasks and system design. | 4+ years of professional software engineering experience, strong coding skills in at least one major language, and experience with production-level code review and debugging. | Opportunity Overview Handshake is seeking experienced Software Engineers to support AI research through flexible, hourly contract work. This is not a traditional full-time SWE role. You’ll use your real-world software development experience to evaluate AI-generated code and technical content, provide structured feedback, and help improve how AI understands programming tasks, system design, and engineering best practices. This is an ongoing, project-based opportunity that can be done alongside your primary employment. Who This Is For This opportunity is designed for professionals currently working (or recently working) in roles such as: Software Engineer or Senior Software Engineer Backend, Frontend, or Full-Stack Engineer Systems Engineer or Application Developer This is not a traditional full-time role. You’ll apply once and, if qualified, be considered for part-time, project-based work as new projects become available. What You’ll Do This project involves using your software engineering experience to design job-related coding questions and review AI-generated responses for correctness, efficiency, clarity, and alignment with real-world engineering practices. Applicants will be required to pass a coding assessment as part of the selection process. Qualifications We’re looking for professionals with: 4+ years of professional software engineering experience (internships excluded) Strong hands-on coding experience in at least one major programming language (e.g., Python, Java, C++, JavaScript, Go, etc.) Experience writing, reviewing, and debugging production-level code Comfortable working independently and following detailed technical guidelines Strong written communication skills and attention to detail Application Process Create a Handshake account Upload your resume and verify your identity Get matched and onboarded into relevant projects Start working and earning Work Model and Project Details Status: Independent contractor (not a full-time employee role) Location: Fully remote Schedule: Flexible and asynchronous, with no minimum hour requirement. Many contributors work approximately 5–20 hours per week when assigned to an active project Duration: The Handshake AI program runs year-round, with projects opening periodically across different areas of expertise. Placement depends on current project needs, with opportunities to be considered for future projects as they become available Work authorization information F-1 students who are eligible for CPT or OPT may be eligible for projects on Handshake AI. Work with your Designated School Official to determine your eligibility. If your school requires a CPT course, Handshake AI may not meet your school’s requirements. STEM OPT is not

Owns end-to-end program execution for research initiatives, translating research goals into technical requirements, and managing cross-functional teams. | Requires experience in managing complex, cross-functional initiatives, understanding of ML systems, and ability to work with research and engineering teams. | About Handshake AI Handshake is building the career network for the AI economy. Our three-sided marketplace connects 18 million students and alumni, 1,500+ academic institutions across the U.S. and Europe, and 1 million employers to power how the next generation explores careers, builds skills, and gets hired. Handshake AI is a human data and evaluation business that leverages the scale of the world’s largest early-career network. We work directly with leading AI research labs to build a new generation of human data products. From PhDs in physics to undergraduates fluent in LLMs, Handshake AI is the trusted partner for domain-specific data, post-training, and evaluation at scale. This is a unique opportunity to join a fast-growing team shaping the future of AI through better data, better tools, and better systems — for experts, by experts. Now’s a great time to join Handshake. Here’s why: Leading the AI Career Revolution: Redefining work in the AI economy for millions worldwide Proven Market Demand: Deep partnerships with Fortune 500 companies and frontier AI labs World-Class Team: Leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir Capitalized & Scaling: $3.5B valuation backed by Kleiner Perkins, True Ventures, Notable Capital, and more About the Handshake AI Research Team (HART) Handshake AI Research partners with leading AI labs and institutions to power frontier-grade data, evaluation, and benchmarking research. HART’s mission is to push the boundaries of how intelligence is created, measured, and assured — through rigorous systems, trustworthy evaluation, and post-training research on frontier data types. About the Role As Technical Program Manager, Handshake AI Research, you will own the execution backbone of HART’s research initiatives. You will translate research goals and partner requirements into well-structured technical programs, ensuring delivery across Research, Engineering, and Operations. This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of research ambition and operational reality — someone who can bring structure to ambiguity, manage complex cross-functional dependencies, and scale technically rigorous work into repeatable systems. You will act as the Directly Responsible Individual for research programs, ensuring alignment, execution quality, and on-time delivery for initiatives spanning data quality, evaluation frameworks, and post-training workflows. What You’ll Do Own end-to-end program execution for Handshake AI Research initiatives, from early scoping through pilot, scale, and steady-state operations Translate research objectives and partner needs into clear technical requirements, milestones, and delivery plans Serve as the primary execution lead bridging Research, Engineering, Operations, and external AI lab partners Drive programs across HART’s core pillars: Data Quality & Validation Evaluation & Benchmarking Post-training data workflows (RLHF / RLAIF / domain-expert labeling) Manage timelines, risks, dependencies, and resourcing across multiple concurrent research programs Partner with engineering to ensure tooling and infrastructure support scalable research execution Collaborate with operations, quality, and analytics teams to design repeatable, high-quality research pipelines Track success metrics aligned with research OKRs, partner commitments, and evaluation outcomes Identify bottlenecks, propose system-level improvements, and drive continuous process optimization Communicate program status, tradeoffs, and outcomes clearly to internal leadership and external stakeholders Desired Capabilities Experience as a Technical Program Manager, Program Manager, or equivalent, owning complex cross-functional initiatives Strong technical foundation in machine learning systems, particularly LLMs, post-training workflows, and evaluation frameworks Experience working closely with researchers and engineers, translating research goals into executable programs Familiarity with data annotation, data quality, or evaluation pipelines in ML systems Proven ability to manage ambiguity, align stakeholders, and deliver in fast-moving environments Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical work to diverse audiences Systems thinker with a bias toward execution, scalability, and operational rigor Comfort partnering with external organizations (AI labs, academic institutions, or industry partners) Perks Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life. The below benefits are for full-time US employees. 🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company 💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching 🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching 💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend 📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development 💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office 🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days, winter #ShakeBreak where our whole office closes for a week! 🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.

Design and scale infrastructure and systems for LLM post-training and evaluation, develop benchmarks, optimize performance, and mentor engineers. | 5+ years applied ML or distributed systems experience, proficiency in Python and PyTorch, experience with large-scale data pipelines and evaluation frameworks, strong communication and leadership skills. | About Handshake AI Handshake is building the career network for the AI economy. Our three-sided marketplace connects 18 million students and alumni, 1,500+ academic institutions across the U.S. and Europe, and 1 million employers to power how the next generation explores careers, builds skills, and gets hired. Handshake AI is a human data labeling business that leverages the scale of the largest early career network. We work directly with the world’s leading AI research labs to build a new generation of human data products. From PhDs in physics to undergrads fluent in LLMs, Handshake AI is the trusted partner for domain-specific data and evaluation at scale. This is a unique opportunity to join a fast-growing team shaping the future of AI through better data, better tools, and better systems—for experts, by experts. Now’s a great time to join Handshake. Here’s why: • Leading the AI Career Revolution: Be part of the team redefining work in the AI economy for millions worldwide. • Proven Market Demand: Deep employer partnerships across Fortune 500s and the world’s leading AI research labs. • World-Class Team: Leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, just to name a few. • Capitalized & Scaling: $3.5B valuation from top investors including Kleiner Perkins, True Ventures, Notable Capital, and more. About the Role As a Senior Research Engineer, you’ll play a leading role in designing and scaling the infrastructure, systems, and frameworks that power the next generation of LLM post-training and evaluation. You’ll work closely with research scientists to define methodologies, push the boundaries of data quality and benchmark design, and mentor other engineers to raise the technical bar across the team. This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of research and large-scale engineering, with the ability to translate complex research insights into robust, production-grade systems. You will: • Architect, implement, and optimize large-scale post-training systems and data processing pipelines, ensuring reliability, scalability, and performance. • Lead the development of next-generation LLM benchmarks and evaluation frameworks, defining standards for measuring advanced reasoning, alignment, and knowledge capabilities. • Design and enforce rigorous methodologies for verifying data integrity and quality across highly specialized datasets. • Drive software/hardware performance optimization to accelerate experimentation and deployment (e.g., memory usage, training throughput, distributed systems). • Partner with cross-disciplinary teams—including research scientists, domain experts, and product engineers—to validate and productionize model improvements. • Mentor junior engineers and shape technical best practices for the post-training and evaluation engineering pod. • Influence long-term research engineering strategy by identifying opportunities to systematize evaluation and data quality at scale. Desired Capabilities • Advanced proficiency in Python with a track record of building clean, maintainable, and performant codebases. • 5+ years of experience in applied ML, large-scale distributed systems, or post-training infrastructure (RLHF, DPO, constitutional AI, etc.). • Strong expertise with PyTorch and modern ML training frameworks; familiarity with distributed training and inference optimization. • Proven experience designing and operating data pipelines, benchmark frameworks, or large-scale evaluation systems. • Ability to drive technical projects end-to-end: from architecture design to implementation, scaling, and monitoring. • Clear and confident communication skills; ability to collaborate across research and engineering disciplines and influence technical direction. Extra Credit • Experience leading small teams or mentoring engineers. • Track record of open-source contributions in ML infrastructure or evaluation frameworks. • Publications or public talks in applied ML, evaluation, or systems research. • Passion for building responsible AI systems and considering the societal/ethical implications of model evaluation. Perks Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life. The below benefits are for full-time US employees. 🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company 💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching 🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching 💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend 📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development 💻 Remote & Office: Stipends for home office setup, internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office 🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days, winter #ShakeBreak where our whole office closes for a week! 🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.

Lead operational excellence and customer experience improvements by diagnosing systemic issues, managing frontline teams, and collaborating cross-functionally to implement solutions. | 2-4 years in business operations or customer experience leadership, strong analytical skills with SQL and Looker, proven process building and change management experience, and ability to influence cross-functional teams. | About Handshake AI Handshake is building the career network for the AI economy. Our three-sided marketplace connects 18 million students and alumni, 1,500+ academic institutions across the U.S. and Europe, and 1 million employers to power how the next generation explores careers, builds skills, and gets hired. Handshake AI is a human data labeling business that leverages the scale of the largest early career network. We work directly with the world’s leading AI research labs to build a new generation of human data products. From PhDs in physics to undergrads fluent in LLMs, Handshake AI is the trusted partner for domain-specific data and evaluation at scale. This is a unique opportunity to join a fast-growing team shaping the future of AI through better data, better tools, and better systems—for experts, by experts. Now’s a great time to join Handshake. Here’s why: • Leading the AI Career Revolution: Be part of the team redefining work in the AI economy for millions worldwide. • Proven Market Demand: Deep employer partnerships across Fortune 500s and the world’s leading AI research labs. • World-Class Team: Leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, just to name a few. • Capitalized & Scaling: $3.5B valuation from top investors including Kleiner Perkins, True Ventures, Notable Capital, and more. About The Role We’re looking for a Lead who thrives at the intersection of business operations and customer experience leadership. In this role, you’ll drive operational excellence across our Customer Experience & Strategy function while leading and developing a high-performing frontline team. You’ll spend ~70% of your time diagnosing and fixing systemic operational pain points — using data, process design, and cross-functional influence — and ~30% managing and coaching our frontline managers and agents. You’ll have the mandate not just to surface issues, but to own solutions end-to-end. • Lead operational improvement projects to streamline workflows, reduce escalations, and enhance the customer experience. • Use data (SQL, Looker, spreadsheets) to uncover trends, identify root causes, and measure improvements. • Partner with Product, Engineering, and other cross-functional teams to design and implement systemic fixes. • Drive change management for new tools, processes, and policies, securing buy-in across stakeholders. • Define, track, and report on KPIs for both operational performance and team engagement. • Build a culture of empathy for frontline employees and customers (Handshake Fellows), translating their pain points into scalable solutions. Desired Capabilities • 2-4 years in BizOps, Strategy & Operations, or Customer Experience/Support Ops leadership in high-growth tech, consulting, or marketplace environments. • Proven experience building processes from scratch, and leading change management initiatives. • Strong analytical skills with fluency in SQL, Looker, and spreadsheets; able to quantify impact and measure results. • Track record of identifying operational inefficiencies and implementing solutions end-to-end. • Ability to influence without authority and collaborate effectively across Product, Engineering, and senior leadership. • Comfort toggling between high-level strategy and hands-on execution. • Bias toward action and a builder mentality — you don’t just document problems, you fix them. Perks Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life. The below benefits are for full-time US employees. 🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company 💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching 🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching 💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend 📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development 💻 Remote & Office: Stipends for home office setup, internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office 🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days, winter #ShakeBreak where our whole office closes for a week! 🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.