Remote Associate Forward Deployed Engineer (aFDE) — AI Research & Domain Evaluation

ZR Talent Group has an active remote opening for a Remote Associate Forward Deployed Engineer (aFDE) — AI Research & Domain Evaluation ($40 - $60/hour). This flexible work-from-home role pairs experienced practitioners in Python, SQL, Data Workflows with leading machine learning laboratories to author high-difficulty prompts, verify factual and technical rigor, and refine multi-step reasoning outputs.

Prior experience building machine learning systems is not required—our research partners value authentic practitioner judgment, domain rigor, and clear analytical writing.

Key Responsibilities & Deliverables

• Help customers bring their data into the platform, from initial preparation through successful transfer and validation.
• Build and improve scripts, integrations, and automations that make data ingestion faster and more reliable.
• Investigate and resolve technical issues across APIs, data formats, and transfer workflows, with support from core FDEs.
• Monitor active workflows, identify gaps, and verify that customer data arrives complete and accurate.
• Work directly with customers and internal teams to communicate progress and move past blockers.
• Turn recurring issues into better tooling, documentation, and reusable workflows.
• Take on increasingly complex technical work as your experience and ownership grow.

Required Qualifications & Technical Criteria

• Foundational programming skills, including the ability to write and debug basic scripts in Python or a similar language.
• Working knowledge of APIs and comfort using command-line tools and Git.
• A methodical approach to troubleshooting and willingness to ask for help when needed.
• Strong ownership, reliability, and attention to detail.
• Clear written communication with customers and internal teams.
• Ability to follow runbooks, recognize their limitations, and suggest improvements.
• Sound judgment around sensitive data and production systems.
• Curiosity, initiative, and a desire to take on increasing engineering responsibility.

Preferred Experience & Bonus Attributes

• Practical background using SQL, data pipelines, or large datasets.
• Working knowledge of cloud storage and data-transfer workflows.
• Experience working in Linux environments.
• Working knowledge of formats such as JSON, CSV, or Parquet.
• Experience using AI coding tools to build and debug, with careful review of their output.
• Demonstrated background in a startup or customer-facing technical role.

Compensation, Remote Eligibility & Schedule

• Compensation Band: $40 - $60/hour
• Work Model: 100% Remote / Work From Home with flexible asynchronous scheduling
• Eligible Remote Locations: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa
• Current Openings: 1 active specialist position
• Hiring Organization: ZR Talent Group
• Core Skills & Technologies: Python, SQL, Data Workflows