It’s a marriage of minds. Tech Editors at Mindrift use their professional editing skills on our Coding projects to help train AI coding assistants. 

Coding is a fast-growing domain for generative AI, as developers increasingly use AI-assisted coding tools to boost their productivity. An AI assistant can augment or optimize existing code, document code functionality, help with debugging, write new code snippets, or help a developer implement best practices. A McKinsey report claims that AI tools cut developer time in half on standard tasks.

As AI tools for coding become more prevalent, model development requires training datasets with real user questions, code samples, and code explanations. The Mindrift team delivers coding dialogs that cover a wide range of programming languages and frameworks. Tech Editors play an important role in checking and polishing the results to achieve natural-sounding, accurate, and easy-to-read texts. 

If you want to know more about the importance of human input in AI, read Beyond Wikipedia downloads: Understanding the role of human intelligence in training Gen AI.

Are Tech Editors also AI Tutors? 

AI Tutors at Mindrift have designated roles as Writers, Editors, and Tech Editors. All AI Tutors rely on our style guides and other quality guidelines to collaborate on projects that will form the “voice” of future AI. The goal is to craft original, helpful, honest, and harmless texts and fact-check them to meet our standards for high-quality training data. Tech Editors perform a role similar to general Editors, but they focus on projects in the coding domain.

Want to know more about typical AI Tutor tasks? Check out The Writer's Guide to AI: Decoding the Role of AI Tutors

A glimpse into the Tech Editor role

Tech Editors improve writing tasks submitted by coding experts to ensure they meet the project requirements. The main task of an editor is to check written dialogs and code samples for text quality, formatting, style, text length, originality, and readability. 

To be a successful Tech Editor you don't need to be a developer or write code. You need to apply strong text editing skills, a keen eye for detail, and a commitment to quality.

As part of a broader team of freelance technical editors, you will have a team lead who will offer guidance and help you get the most out of the process, providing a supportive and secure work environment.

Skills that make Tech Editors stand out

All of Mindrift’s projects require excellent writing and editing skills. 

To start as a Tech Editor, you also need to be comfortable reading technical documentation and figuring out basic code samples and terminology in modern programming languages and rich text formats, including JSON, Python, C++, JavaScript, YAML, CSV, HTML, and others. Experience with Markdown syntax is helpful for formatting text and code blocks in editing tasks. But there are no strict requirements if you have some experience in technical writing or editing, and you’re eager to learn something new.  

The one skill you don’t need to have is writing code or generating code samples. All dialogs and code snippets are ready for you to apply your editing magic. Inside code blocks, you can tweak the documentation comments for consistency and clarity, without making changes to the code. In-depth knowledge of coding concepts and languages is not needed — just keep a search engine at your fingertips for unfamiliar terms.

We appreciate curiosity, flexibility, and enthusiasm. Tech editors need to switch between projects and topics quickly, and sometimes work with challenging, complex guidelines. As for the technical tools, you’ll need a laptop and a stable internet connection. The only installed software required is a web browser to access our platform.

Why choose Mindrift?

Flexibility. At Mindrift, we value your independence and understand the importance of work-life balance. This is why we offer a freelance, remote, part-time role. You have the freedom to choose your work hours and tasks, allowing you to integrate this role with your other commitments seamlessly. 

Opportunity. In the current market, anything related to AI will strengthen your CV. Many of our AI Tutors see new opportunities opening up thanks to their Mindrift experience. Rather than just hearing from friends or the media that AI will soon replace us, you will learn how to become a core part of AI development while getting paid to use your editing skills.

Community. One of Mindrift’s primary values is the power of community. Mindrift uses the Discord platform to connect AI Tutors, encourage communication and collaboration, and keep everyone updated on project expectations.

What other Tech Editors say 

"I was pleased to join the Gen AI movement and gain firsthand knowledge of the developments in this area. As a technical writer, I feel training LLMs through content editing gives me a chance to stay up-to-date while being compensated for my work." – Amrita, Tech Editor

"Being an editor for Mindrift means navigating the intersection of technology and creativity, where I get to refine AI-generated content to achieve clarity, accuracy, and engagement. For six months this role has pushed me to constantly adapt and learn, utilizing my skills in both language and technology. It's fascinating to see how AI evolves, and I get to play a part in shaping its output. Unlike general editing, this role enables me to flex my creative and technical skills. Each day gives me a fresh and stimulating challenge." – Kent, Tech Editor 

“I like the challenges that the pace and requirements add. I also like being able to bend my workday and workweek as needed to fit my life. Knowing that each item of work I complete adds to my bottom line is nice, but it can also add a little stress that was not present in a salaried position! The bonuses, pay that flexes with complexity and deadlines, and per-item pay scale gamify things a little bit.” – H, Tech Editor

"Working as a tech editor is really rewarding. I ensure coding is accurate and the explanations around it are easy to understand, but more importantly, I help train AI. It’s an area that is developing so quickly, and it always leads to conversations whenever anyone sees it in my CV, especially because it’s tech, not just general editing." – Emma, Tech Editor

Next steps – let the journey begin!

Ready to embark on this transformative journey?

• Head over to Mindrift's Linkedin page and take the first step – fill out the application form.

• You will pass a test assignment on Mindrift’s platform to assess your skills.

Showcase your editing prowess and pave the way for a rewarding role at Mindrift.