Expert Mainframe & Enterprise Engineer - COBOL / ABAP (Train AI Models

hackajob is collaborating with Mercor to connect them with exceptional professionals for this role.

About the Opportunity A leading AI research organization is evaluating how advanced AI systems perform in specialized engineering domains, and is seeking expert engineers with deep, hands-on production experience in COBOL and/or ABAP . You'll apply your enterprise expertise to assess complex, real-world technical scenarios - directly shaping how cutting-edge AI performs in mainframe and enterprise systems. _Single-language specialists are strongly encouraged to apply._ What You'll Do - Apply your language expertise to evaluate technical tasks against real-world professional standards - Review intricate code-level situations and provide precise, structured written assessments - Work inside containerized repositories (Docker), running and interpreting programmatic and CI-style checks to judge whether an engineering environment is sound - Provide clear written rationales explaining your expert judgments - Complete well-defined, time-bounded tasks with explicit evaluation criteria Who We're Looking For We value strong engineering fundamentals, fast ramp-up, and high ownership over single-language pedigree alone - but deep specialists are very welcome. The ideal candidate brings: - 8+ years of professional development in one or both of: - _COBOL_ - IBM mainframe (z/OS) production development; JCL, CICS, VSAM, DB2; banking, insurance, or government systems - _ABAP_ - SAP development in R/3 or S/4HANA; Workbench tools (SE38, SE80, SE11); BAPIs, BADIs, Enhancement Spots; enterprise ERP environments - Comfort working in Linux/Docker-based repo environments and reading automated/CI checks - or the ability to ramp on these fast - Ability to articulate not just _what_ code does but _why_ it's correct or idiomatic, clearly in writing - _Welcomed:_ practitioners from banking, insurance, enterprise ERP, or government backgrounds; non-traditional digital footprints are fine - a GitHub profile is not required Why This Work Matters COBOL and ABAP run critical infrastructure in global banking, insurance, and enterprise ERP, yet remain among the least-represented domains in AI research. The expertise you bring is rare, and your assessments directly influence how AI systems learn to operate in it. Engagement Details - Compensation: $130-210/hour , based on depth and experience - Expected commitment: 20-40 hrs/week - Task flow is variable - work tends to arrive in waves, and there can be a lag between task batches. We're looking for people who stay flexible, including availability on weekends when needed, and who take ownership of keeping the project moving forward - No proprietary tooling required - tasks are completable without employer-provided systems (no SAP license or mainframe access needed)