01 · The role
What you would do
- Design realistic tasks in routing, switching, network services, segmentation, access policy, redundancy and performance
- Build reproducible lab topologies and device configurations in tools such as containerlab, GNS3, EVE-NG, Mininet or FRRouting
- Write automated checks for reachability, route selection, policy, failover, latency and packet loss
- Produce reference configurations, failure scenarios and verification scripts, and test both correct and deliberately wrong cases
- Review AI-generated configurations and diagnose why they fail
02 · Requirements
What they ask for
- Five or more years of professional network engineering, with direct ownership of enterprise, data-center, cloud or service-provider networks
- Strong hands-on routing, switching, troubleshooting and network policy skills
- Experience building network labs or emulations and analyzing traffic with tools such as Wireshark, tcpdump or iperf
- Python, shell or Ansible skills for repeatable setup and checks
Helpful, not required
- Certifications such as CCNP, CCIE or JNCIP
- Experience with network test automation
- Network engineering
- BGP and OSPF
- Network simulation
- Python
- Test automation
03 · Eligibility
Who can apply
Remote. The listing does not name eligible countries, so Mercor's own rules decide: it can only onboard people in countries its payments support, which in October 2026 included Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt but not Kenya.
Some African countriesOpen in NigeriaOpen in GhanaOpen in South AfricaOpen in Egypt
- NigeriaCan apply
- KenyaCannot apply
- GhanaCan apply
- South AfricaCan apply
- EgyptCan apply
That is as far as the listing and Mercor's country rules show: the listing has the last word, and rules change. Mercor in Africa
Apply from where you live, as yourself. Using a VPN or someone else's identity to get around a country rule breaks these platforms' terms, and it is the quickest way to lose an account and any unpaid earnings.
04 · Applying
How to get in
You apply through Mercor's own process. The steps from sign-up to first paid task are on its profile.
- How AI interviews work at micro1 and Mercor: what the AI interview checks, and how to prepare.
- Getting paid from Africa: PayPal, Payoneer, Airtm, Wise and more. It covers which of Mercor's payout routes work where you live, and what they cost.
05 · Source
About this listing
We last confirmed this opening on Nov 11, 2026, and it was posted on Nov 5, 2026. Rates and hours come from the listing unless the note beside the rate says otherwise. Where the listing names no countries, the Africa status is our reading of it and of what is known of Mercor's country rules, set out on its profile, and never marks a role more open than they show. The listing itself has the final word.
The listing on work.mercor.com(opens in a new tab)