Remote | Backend Security Engineer — $30–$100/hour
We are sharing a specialised consulting opportunity for experienced Backend Security Engineers with strong expertise in backend development, secure coding, application security, penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, debugging, and software quality to contribute to an advanced AI training and software-engineering evaluation project.
Selected professionals will create realistic coding tasks involving feature implementation, bug fixing, and security-sensitive backend scenarios, while building deterministic verifiers that distinguish valid solutions from incorrect or unsafe implementations. No prior experience in AI is required.
Key Responsibilities
Secure Backend Engineering
- Develop and evaluate backend services using Java, Node.js, Go, Rust, TypeScript, Python, C++, or similar languages
- Apply secure-coding principles across realistic software-engineering scenarios
- Review backend architectures for reliability, scalability, and security
- Identify implementation choices that introduce operational or security risk
- Apply strong engineering judgement across production-style codebases
Security Testing & Vulnerability Assessment
- Evaluate code for application-security weaknesses and vulnerable patterns
- Apply experience with penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and security reviews
- Identify issues aligned with common OWASP and CWE categories
- Assess whether proposed solutions introduce exploitable behaviour or unsafe assumptions
- Provide clear technical reasoning around identified security issues
Coding Task & Feature Development
- Design challenging coding tasks involving feature implementation and bug fixes
- Define clear technical requirements, constraints, and expected behaviours
- Implement robust features within existing or unfamiliar codebases
- Ensure tasks allow reasonable valid implementation approaches
- Apply algorithms, data structures, and sound software-engineering principles
Debugging, Refactoring & Performance
- Diagnose complex software defects and identify root causes
- Resolve bugs and system bottlenecks across varied backend systems
- Refactor existing code to improve clarity, maintainability, and reliability
- Optimise performance while preserving correct system behaviour
- Validate changes through automated testing and structured technical review
Deterministic Verification & Code Quality
- Build deterministic verifiers for coding tasks and submitted solutions
- Ensure verification accepts valid implementations while rejecting incorrect outputs
- Develop tests covering expected behaviour, edge cases, and failure conditions
- Review code for correctness, maintainability, performance, and security
- Document technical reasoning and evaluation decisions clearly
Ideal Profile
- Strong professional experience in backend software engineering
- Expertise in Java, Node.js, Go, Rust, TypeScript, Python, C++, or a comparable language
- Proven experience building scalable services and APIs
- Strong background in secure coding, application security, or SecOps
- Experience with penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, or security audits
- Familiarity with OWASP, CWE, and common software-security weaknesses
- Strong debugging, automated-testing, and performance-optimisation skills
- Experience implementing complex features in production codebases
- Strong code-review instincts and attention to software quality
- Experience refactoring mature or large-scale systems
- Solid understanding of algorithms, data structures, and core computer-science concepts
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and technical communication skills
- Ability to work independently and apply professional judgement without outside assistance
- No prior AI-training or model-evaluation experience is required
Engagement Details
- Independent contractor engagement
- Fully remote
- Expected commitment: approximately 15 hours per week
- Flexible schedule; contributors may choose their working hours and days, including weekends
- Displayed compensation range: $30–$100/hour
- Actual compensation structure is output-based, with payment made per task that meets project specifications
- Task completion time may vary depending on individual experience and workflow
- Minimum weekly submission requirements apply; the source does not specify the exact number of required tasks
- Work will involve backend engineering, security review, coding-task development, bug fixing, deterministic verification, automated testing, and performance optimisation
- Screening includes an approximately 30-minute AI interview, a tentative technical assessment, and hiring-manager review
- Roles are typically filled within approximately 48 hours, with initial tasks expected within approximately 24–48 hours after onboarding
- Interviews, assessments, and project work are expected to be completed without outside assistance
- Project scope, workload, codebases, languages, and evaluation standards may evolve depending on project requirements
- Work must be completed without using confidential or proprietary information belonging to any employer, client, institution, or other third party
About the Platform
This opportunity is available through 24-MAG LLC. We connect experienced professionals with remote consulting opportunities across technical, evaluation, and project-based workstreams.
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Remote
Skills:
Algorithms, Analysis Skills, Application Programming Interface (API), Applications Security, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Audio Engineering, C++ Programming Language, Code Reviews, Communication Skills, Computer Science, Computer Security, Consulting, Data Structures, Debugging Skills, Debugging Tools, Go Programming Language (Golang), Identify Issues, Java, Large-Scale Systems, Node.js, Operations Security (OPSEC), Penetration Testing, Performance Tuning/Optimization, Problem Solving Skills, Project Evaluation, Python Programming/Scripting Language, Refactoring, Requirements Management, Risk, Root Cause Analysis, Rust Programming Language, Scalable System Development, Secure Coding, Security Attacks, Security Auditing, Software Debugging, Software Engineering, Software Evaluation, Technical Analysis, Technical Consulting, Technical Recruiting, Technical Writing, Test Automation, Test Plan/Schedule
24-Mag
