How to apply to rustLabs

Who can join

• Be at least 18. rustLabs' Terms of Service and its Expert and Applicant Privacy Notice both say you must be 18 or older to apply or use the platform.
• Be a working professional or a graduate-level student in one of its six fields: software engineering, finance and accounting, ML engineering, science and STEM, legal, or medical. No annotation experience is needed.
• Software engineering: professional software engineering experience and comfort with Git, the terminal and at least one production language. A computer science or engineering degree helps; shipped work counts most.
• Legal: a law degree (JD, LLM or LLB). Bar admission or practice experience is a plus, and you should say where you are licensed, because projects are often scoped to one jurisdiction.
• Medical: a clinical or health degree (MD, MBBS, DO, pharmacy, nursing or public health); some task lines want licensed physicians, NPs, PAs or pharmacists. State your license and jurisdiction: some projects are US-only or EU-only.
• Science and STEM: a degree in physics, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, biology or engineering; graduate study or research experience is a plus.
• A public LinkedIn profile and a resume (PDF or DOC, up to 10 MB). Some roles also need a mobile or WhatsApp number to set you up.
• Not working from a country under comprehensive US sanctions or listed on a US, EU, UK or UN restricted-party list, and no VPN or proxy to mask your location unless a project asks for one in writing.
• rustLabs may ask for an identity check with Persona before you get project access, and again at least once a year or when a project requires it: a photo of a government-issued ID and a selfie, compared and screened against sanctions and watchlists.
• Before you are paid, the payout provider's identity check and a tax form: IRS Form W-9 for US persons or Form W-8BEN for everyone else.

Step by step

1. 1

   Fill in the application form

   At experts.rustlabs.ai/apply give your name, email, where you are based, your primary language, your field and years of experience, any annotation experience, your college and graduation year (or tick that you are a student), your LinkedIn and your resume. rustLabs reads your resume and LinkedIn, not a cover letter, and says the form takes about a minute.

2. 2

   Pick an open role or apply in your field

   On 11 November 2026 its public page listed six open roles: US lawyers for legal tasks, scientific coding experts, AI security engineers, music describers, audio describers and image edit reviewers. If none fits, apply in your own field and rustLabs invites you when a role opens.

3. 3

   Take the starter exam or the role's short form

   Most fields have a short starter exam, a calibration task in your area that you take once. The scientific coding, AI security, music, audio and image review roles have no starter exam: after the application, one short form asks about your background and the hours you can give.

4. 4

   Sign in to the experts platform

   Sign in at experts.rustlabs.ai/platform/login with Google or email; you can sign in with Google right after you submit your application. The workspace is where you pick up paid projects in your field, track payments and talk to other rustLabs experts.

5. 5

   Wait for an invitation

   rustLabs invites you when a role in your field is staffing and does not promise a start date. For open roles it reads your answers and replies by email; if you gave a number, it may also message you about your application on WhatsApp or by text.

6. 6

   Sign the agreements

   Before you see any project material you sign a contributor agreement, a confidentiality agreement and a code of conduct. The texts are versioned, and a change means everyone signs again.

7. 7

   Do the work

   Most work takes one of three shapes. Build: write a task with a reference solution and hidden tests, a few hours each, paid per accepted task. Grade: score a model's answer against a rubric, 20 minutes to an hour, paid per task or per hour. Compare: pick the better of two answers and say why, minutes each in batches, paid per hour.

8. 8

   Get paid through Dots

   Work is reviewed, accepted, then paid within 30 days of acceptance through Dots. The Payments page shows what is owed, what has been sent and a statement for every batch.

Tips to get accepted

• US lawyers: that role's form opens only from the link in the email rustLabs sends you; if the link fails, reply to that email.
• Read the contract's pay terms first: only accepted submissions are paid, nothing is owed for time or attempts that end in no accepted submission, acceptance is at rustLabs' sole discretion, and you must dispute a payment in writing within 10 business days of receiving it.
• Budget for costs on your side: processor fees, currency conversion and local receiving costs are yours unless a project's instructions say otherwise.
• Have your ID and tax details ready before your first payout: rustLabs says identity verification and a tax form come before it, and accepted work is paid at the project's rate through its payout provider.
• Know Dots' own timing: its help center says PayPal and Venmo payouts usually complete in 5 to 10 minutes, US bank transfers by ACH in 1 to 3 business days, and international bank transfers normally in 3 to 5 business days. rustLabs does not publish which methods it offers.
• If you would rather go to court than to arbitration, email bz@rustlabs.ai within 30 days of signing the contributor agreement, with your full name and platform account email; opting out does not affect your eligibility for projects.
• The contract bars you for 12 months after your last project from working directly for clients you met through rustLabs; this does not apply if you live or work in California.
• Searching for the login? The expert platform is at experts.rustlabs.ai; rustlabs.com is an unrelated wiki for the Rust video game.