Welder apprentice Jobs in Elgin, IL

Mercor is partnering with leading AI labs on Project Atlas — an initiative to build realistic enterprise environments that frontier AI agents are trained and evaluated in. We're seeking experienced vocational and workforce-training professionals from large community college systems, union apprenticeship programs, and Fortune 500 corporate training organizations to recreate the digital workspaces they use every day and design the tasks that genuinely challenge state-of-the-art AI. You'll bring your expertise in curriculum design, competency assessment, apprenticeship administration, and skills-credentialing to build a high-fidelity environment that mirrors the tools, files, and workflows of real workforce-development work — and then author tasks grounded in the programs you actually run today. Key Responsibilities - Build a realistic digital workspace centered on the Drive folders you use day-to-day — the curricula, competency rubrics, lesson plans, apprentice records, credentialing paperwork, and email threads that reflect how you actually organize your work — with some representation of the apps that support it (e.g., Google Classroom, Google Forms, SharePoint)

• Design multi-step tasks grounded in your real workflows that require navigating multiple apps, files, and stakeholders in a way that meaningfully challenges frontier AI agents
• Collaborate with other vocational and workforce-training experts in your field to design the environment, shape task scope, and review each other's scenarios for realism and rigor
• Work asynchronously with research teams to refine task designs and evaluation criteria for workforce-training agent benchmarks
• Contribute to frontier AI research and benchmarking — the work you produce directly informs how leading labs train and evaluate the next generation of AI systems Ideal Qualifications - 3+ years of full-time experience at a large community college system, major union training trust, or Fortune 500 corporate training / L&D organization
• Background in one or more areas such as : - Curriculum and instructional design for skilled trades or technical programs - Apprenticeship program administration (DOL / state-registered) - Competency-based assessment and credentialing (NOCTI, NCCER, etc.) - Workforce development policy and funding (WIOA, Perkins) - Corporate training / L&D with a technical or manufacturing emphasis
• Day-to-day use of platforms like Google Classroom, Google Forms, and SharePoint / Box
• Strong analytical thinking and writing — able to translate training workflows into structured task specs Compensation Note This project is expected to begin on an effective hourly rate, but will transition to a model where experts are compensated based on throughput of quality work rather than a flat accruing hourly rate. About Mercor Mercor is a talent marketplace that connects top experts with leading AI labs and research organizations. Backed by investors including Benchmark, General Catalyst, Adam D'Angelo, and Jack Dorsey. Thousands of professionals across domains contribute to projects shaping the next generation of AI systems.