Expert Mainframe Engineer – COBOL/ABAP at Mercor

Expert Mainframe & Enterprise Engineer (COBOL / ABAP) | $130–210/hr | Worldwide Remote | 20–40 hrs/week

A leading AI research organization is seeking seasoned COBOL and/or ABAP engineers to evaluate how advanced AI systems perform in specialized enterprise and mainframe engineering domains. Your real-world expertise will directly shape how cutting-edge AI learns to operate in critical infrastructure environments. Single-language specialists are strongly encouraged to apply.

What You'll Do

• Apply your deep language expertise to evaluate complex technical tasks against real-world professional standards
• Review intricate code-level scenarios and deliver precise, structured written assessments
• Work inside containerized repositories (Docker), running and interpreting programmatic and CI-style checks to assess engineering environment soundness
• Provide clear written rationales explaining your expert judgments
• Complete well-defined, time-bounded tasks with explicit evaluation criteria

Who We're Looking For

• 8+ years of professional development experience 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 up quickly
• Ability to articulate not just what code does, but why it is correct or idiomatic, clearly in writing
• Backgrounds in banking, insurance, enterprise ERP, or government are highly valued; a GitHub profile is not required

Engagement Details

• Compensation: $130–210/hour, based on depth and experience
• Commitment: 20–40 hours per week; task flow is variable and may arrive in waves
• Flexibility required, including occasional weekend availability
• No proprietary tooling needed — no SAP license or mainframe access required

COBOL and ABAP power critical global infrastructure yet remain among the least-represented domains in AI research. Your expertise is rare and your contributions will have a meaningful, lasting impact.