Network Systems Engineer - India

Mercor is hiring a Network Systems Engineer to create terminal bench–style problems and tasks involving agents within the network systems domain as part of a hiring effort for its AI lab partner building advanced agent-based infrastructure. This role is ideal for engineers who are passionate about deep system-level challenges, simulation environments, and agent-based testing frameworks. You will be responsible for building realistic, reproducible terminal environments where autonomous agents are tasked with solving complex networking problems. Your work will directly shape how next-generation AI systems are evaluated in real-world, terminal-driven networking scenarios.

You’re a great fit if you:

• Have 3+ years of experience in systems, network, or infrastructure engineering.

• Possess strong command of Linux-based networking, shell scripting, and terminal workflows.

• Understand core network protocols (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, HTTP/S) and their real-world behavior.

• Have hands-on experience with tools like Docker, iptables, tcpdump, Wireshark, Netcat, Kubernetes, or QEMU.

• Have worked with or built distributed systems, cloud-native infrastructure, or sandboxed environments.

• Can simulate network failures, routing changes, or misconfigurations for robust testing.

• Are passionate about AI agents and eager to design terminal-driven benchmark environments that test agent reasoning, troubleshooting, and decision-making.

• Thrive in autonomous, fast-paced environments and enjoy owning projects end to end.

Primary Goal of This Role

To create terminal bench–style problems and tasks involving agents in the domain of network systems. These environments will emulate realistic networking scenarios and serve as the foundation for evaluating autonomous agents on their ability to diagnose, resolve, and adapt to system-level challenges through interactive terminal-based interfaces.

What You’ll Do

• Build sandboxed, secure terminal environments for agent interaction and problem-solving.

• Develop reproducible benchmarks based on real-world networking challenges.

• Simulate network architectures, topologies, and system failures to create rich testing scenarios.

• Collaborate with AI engineers to define task structures, reward mechanisms, and success criteria.

• Implement systems for benchmark versioning, environment resets, and log collection.

• Continuously expand the complexity and scope of tasks — from single-node debugging to distributed, multi-host environments.

Why You Should Join

• Help define a new frontier of AI benchmarking rooted in realistic system-level tasks.

• Explore the intersection of network engineering and autonomous systems.

• Work with a high-ownership, high-trust team that values rigor, autonomy, and experimentation.

We consider all qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics and provide reasonable accommodations upon request.

Contract and Payment Terms

• You will be engaged as an independent contractor.
• This is a fully remote role that can be completed on your own schedule.
• Projects can be extended, shortened, or concluded early depending on needs and performance.
• Your work at Mercor will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer, client, or institution.
• Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise based on services rendered.
• Please note: We are unable to support H1-B or STEM OPT candidates at this time.

About Mercor

Mercor partners with leading AI labs and enterprises to train frontier models using human expertise. You will work on projects that focus on training and enhancing AI systems. You will be paid competitively, collaborate with leading researchers, and help shape the next generation of AI systems in your area of expertise.