Chain of thought (reasoning trace): meaning in AI training jobs

What it means

Also called: reasoning trace.

The step-by-step working a model writes before its final answer. Experts are asked to write such traces, or to check each step of a model's trace and mark where it first goes wrong.

Used in: Maths, science and coding roles.

Maths and STEM roles →

In open roles right now

31 of the open roles we list mention “chain of thought” or a word for it in the title or description, on 6 platforms (as of 23 October 2026). Of those that state an hourly rate (9 distinct postings), the median is $70/hr, and the middle half pay $60 to $70.

Most of them on: Mindrift (17), Welo Data (7), Alignerr (2), Mercor (2), Weekday (2), Prolific (1).

Hospitalist / Internist - Medical AI Evaluation (Remote, Part-Time)Mindrift·United States·Part-time·MD $100/hr

OncologistMercor·United States·Full-time·MD $350–450/hr

Applied History & Political Science Benchmark SpecialistWeekday·United States·Flexible hours·PhD $44–56/hr

AI Engineer/ML Engineer - Senior Developers - AI TrainingProlific·Talent pool·4 countries·Flexible hours Up to $80/hrOngoing

Project Lion - Senior Prompt Engineer - Portugal (Remote, Part-Time)Welo Data·Portugal·Part-time est. $10–30/hr

Senior Machine Learning EngineerAlignerr·9 countries·Full-time $60–80/hr

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