What the work actually involves

You are given a workflow brief — say, creating a multi-channel schematic with hierarchical sheets, setting up a layer stack and impedance-controlled routing rules, running DRC and resolving violations, or generating a fabrication output job. You complete it inside Altium Designer while screen recording, then write up what you did: which panels and commands you used, why you chose one approach over another, and where the software's behaviour would trip up someone less experienced. From that completed workflow you author a realistic prompt (what a user would plausibly ask a model to do) and a rubric that lets a grader decide whether a model's answer is correct, partially correct, or wrong.

The rubric writing is where most of the difficulty sits. It is not enough to say "routes the net correctly" — the rubric has to specify observable criteria: does the answer name the right rule scope, does it distinguish a design rule from a design rule check, does it account for the fact that Altium's behaviour differs between versions. Tasks are reviewed, and rubrics that are vague or unfalsifiable get sent back.

What the screen looks for

micro1's screening is AI-led and asks follow-ups. It is trying to separate people who have shipped boards in Altium from people who have watched tutorials: expect questions about ActiveBOM, variants, the layer stack manager, output jobs, Draftsman, differential pair routing, rule scoping with query language, and how you handle library and component management. Prior human-data work — annotation, RLHF, model output evaluation — is a genuine plus but not required; hands-on Altium depth is the gate. Willingness to record your screen is treated as a hard requirement, since the recording is part of the deliverable.

Logistics

  • Fully remote, contractor engagement, asynchronous — you take tasks from a queue rather than sit in meetings.
  • You must already have a working Altium Designer licence or seat you can use for this work; the platform does not supply one.
  • Observed band is $90–175/hr, stated as reported rather than guaranteed; placement within it tracks demonstrated depth and the complexity of workflows you can handle.
  • Volume is project-driven and can be uneven. Most contributors treat it as part-time alongside other work.