Role directory

STEM jobs

21 active, referral-verified opportunities.

STEM / Remote

Senior Design Expert - Paid AI Design Research Study

Mercor is partnering with a major technology company building AI design tooling on a paid research study with senior designers. — The client wants to capture how expert designers think: how you approach a problem, what separates strong craft from weak, and how you decide when something is ready to ship. This is captured in structured, recorded remote sessions. Depending on fit, you'd either be the expert being interviewed or the one running the interview. — What to expect • Roughly 4–5 hours per task/interview, including prep beforehand and a short review afterward • $250/hour — Scope is still being finalized with the client, so structure, timing, volume, and rate may change. — What we're looking for • Senior-level design experience (product, UX, brand, or adjacent craft disciplines) • A clear point of view on design quality, critique, and shipping standards • A portfolio you can share — a website link is ideal — Portfolios are used solely to assess fit for this study and will not be used for model training of any kind. Please only submit work you're free to share publicly — no confidential, unreleased, or NDA-covered material.

$150 - $250 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Professional Design Experts

Overview — Mercor is seeking Professional Design Experts to work on a research project for one of the world’s top AI companies. This project involves leveraging your professional experience to make decisions about product design and taste preferences. — Note: Candidates must have native or near-native proficiency in English — Ideal Applicants Will Have • Worked in roles that require good taste in visual presentation • Designed graphics, documents, or other files for professional purposes • Experience with design tools such as Figma, Sketch, or Adobe Creative Suite — Role Specifics • Must be able to commit a minimum of 15 hours per week • Should be proficient in Slides, Sheets, Docs, and PDFs — Eligibility • Based in the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada • * * — Equal Opportunity — We consider all qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics and provide reasonable accommodations upon request. • * *

$80 - $180 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Pro Bono Counsel (Access to Justice Expert)

Mercor is seeking experienced Pro Bono Counsel to evaluate AI-generated legal analyses involving civil legal services and access-to-justice issues. Experts will leverage their broad civil practice experience to assess legal reasoning and provide structured feedback to improve AI quality. • * * — Responsibilities • Review AI-generated legal analyses. • Evaluate housing, family, consumer, foreclosure, and debt scenarios. • Assess legal reasoning and procedural guidance. • Identify legal inaccuracies and access-to-justice considerations. • Deliver structured written evaluations. • * * — Required Qualifications • Juris Doctor (JD). • Active U.S. bar admission. • Experience managing or participating in pro bono legal initiatives. • Strong background in civil legal practice. • Excellent legal writing and analytical skills. • * * — Preferred Qualifications • Experience as Pro Bono Counsel or Pro Bono Partner. • Experience coordinating legal clinics or volunteer attorneys. • Expertise across multiple civil legal practice areas. • Experience with legal technology or AI. • * * — Why Join Mercor? • Help improve AI systems supporting legal reasoning and access to justice. • Apply broad civil legal expertise to impactful AI research. • Collaborate with leading AI organisations. • Competitive hourly compensation.

$170 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Research Physics Expert

Role Overview — We are seeking expert physics researchers to author and verify golden reference solutions for the CritPt benchmark (arXiv:2509.26574v3) — a frontier research-level physics benchmark. Participants will solve CritPt research-level problems end-to-end, audit solutions from other experts, or adjudicate between parallel solution attempts, producing 100%-human-verified reference data used to evaluate large language models on frontier physics reasoning. — Physics Subdomains Covered — High Energy Physics & Mathematical Physics, Biophysics & Statistical Physics, Condensed Matter & AMO, Gravitation / Cosmology / Astrophysics, Quantum Information, Optical Properties of Materials, Magnetic Materials, Measurements in QM. — Key Responsibilities • Solve research-level physics challenges end-to-end with verifiable derivations, code, and peer-reviewed references • Decompose challenges into standalone checkpoint sub-problems that require genuine physical reasoning • Author Python answer templates with auto-grading functions for symbolic or numerical answers • Audit submitted solutions for correctness, scope, and method soundness; deliver actionable feedback across iterations • Adjudicate between parallel solver attempts and decide which solution becomes the golden reference • Document chain-of-thought reasoning, error tolerances, equivalent symbolic forms, and verification test cases — Ideal Qualifications • Solver: PhD or postdoc in the relevant subfield (senior PhD student minimum) • Auditor: Postdoc or junior professor in the relevant subfield (PhD minimum) • Adjudicator: Full professor or industry research PI in the relevant subfield (senior postdoc or junior professor minimum) • Hands-on familiarity with at least two canonical methods of the target subfield, demonstrable through publications (broader coverage strongly preferred) • 3–5 representative publications (arXiv ID or DOI), ideally within the last ~5 years and in the target subfield • Working proficiency with LaTeX, Python, Jupyter, and SymPy • Strong written English (B2/C1/C2 minimum; native or near-native preferred) — More About the Opportunity • Expected commitment: ~10 hours/week, sustained across an 8–10 week window per task pool • Pay range: $80–$135 per hour, based on role and demonstrated expertise • Asynchronous work

$80 - $135 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Biology / environmental science Evaluator

About the role — We are hiring expert Evaluators in Biology / environmental science to review and assess AI-generated work products (documents, spreadsheets, and slide decks) for accuracy, rigor, and domain quality. You will apply deep subject-matter expertise to grade outputs. — This is a remote, hourly engagement. — Requirements (must have) — 1. 5+ years of relevant professional experience in Biology / environmental science. 2. Native or professional fluency in English. 3. Highly proficient in Microsoft Office and Google Workspace, especially Slides (Google Slides / PowerPoint). — Preferred (nice to have) • Advanced degree (Master's or higher) from a reputable institution. — What you'll do • Evaluate AI-generated artifacts against domain-specific quality rubrics. • Identify factual, aesthetic, and presentation errors. • Provide clear, structured written feedback.

$80 - $120 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote UK

Molecular Biology Experts

Join a leading AI lab's cutting-edge GenAI team to be at the core of the AI revolution, where your expertise fuels the development of the most advanced AI models. — 1. Overview — Join a leading AI lab's cutting-edge GenAI team and help build foundational AI models from the ground up. We're seeking talented Molecular Biology subject-matter experts (SMEs) with hands-on experience designing DNA and RNA sequences — primers, plasmids, guide RNAs, mRNA constructs, and repair templates — to bring deep domain expertise and elevate the quality of our AI training data. This is a part-time to full-time commitment of up to 40 hours per week. — This is a W-2 employment position with Cincinnatus LLC (or appropriate international entity), with the opportunity to be placed at a leading AI Lab as part of their extended workforce. — 2. Key Responsibilities • Guide research and engineering teams to close knowledge gaps and improve AI model performance in molecular biology, nucleic-acid sequence design, and construct engineering. • Design challenging, domain-relevant tasks and write accurate, well-documented solutions — spanning primers (PCR/qPCR/cloning), plasmids/expression vectors, gRNA/sgRNA for CRISPR editing, mRNA/RNA constructs, and HDR/repair templates — that serve as ground truth. • Evaluate molecular-biology tasks and AI model outputs against expert-quality solutions and provide clear, written technical feedback on correctness, rigor, and biological reasoning. • Develop guidelines and detailed rubrics/evaluation frameworks to assess sequence-design quality — guide/target selection, homology-arm length, primer melting temperature and specificity, codon optimization, and regulatory elements. • Collaborate with other subject matter experts to ensure consistency and accuracy in training data. — 3. Core Qualifications • Advanced degree (PhD strongly preferred) in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, synthetic biology, bioengineering, or a related life-science field. • Hands-on experience designing nucleic-acid constructs prior to experiments — across several of primers, plasmids/vectors, gRNA/sgRNA, mRNA, and HDR/repair templates — together with cloning strategy (Gibson, Golden Gate, Gateway, restriction) and codon optimization. • A strong peer-reviewed publication record, weighted toward first-author work in notable venues (e.g., Nature and the Nature family, Cell, eLife, Nucleic Acids Research, PNAS, EMBO Journal). Please include publication links with your application. • Demonstrable career progression. • Ability to engage reliably for at least 20 hours/week during weekdays. • Past experience in AI training, model evaluation, and data annotation is preferred. • Strong written communication skills and the ability to justify design choices clearly and precisely. — About Cincinnatus LLC: Cincinnatus LLC is an enterprise staffing company that partners with leading technology companies to source and employ highly skilled professionals for contingent and contract-based opportunities. Cincinnatus serves as the employer of record for these engagements, providing W-2 employment, payroll, benefits, and compliance, while placing employees directly within client teams to work on high-impact initiatives. — Equal Employment Opportunity: Cincinnatus is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or any other legally protected characteristic.

$70 - $105 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Computational Chemistry & Electronic Structure Expert

Computational Chemistry & Electronic Structure Expert — About the Project — We're building a large-scale benchmark to test how well advanced AI systems can solve hard scientific and engineering problems. As a task designer, you'll create challenging computational problems that check whether AI can use real scientific software to do research-level work — running simulations, interpreting results, designing experiments, and uncovering hidden information from data. — This isn't a typical data-labeling job. You'll design original, graduate-level problems based on real scientific workflows, test them against cutting-edge AI models, and fine-tune them until the difficulty is just right. — What You'll Do — You'll create problems that require skilled use of specialized scientific software. Some will ask the AI to compute exact answers from a fully defined setup — testing whether it can correctly carry out complex, multi-step workflows. Others will be harder: the AI must plan a series of queries or experiments to uncover information that isn't directly visible, which means thinking strategically about what to measure, how to read partial results, and how to narrow down the possibilities efficiently. — Each problem goes through a testing loop against state-of-the-art AI models, and you'll refine it until it hits the target difficulty. — Domains & Tools We're Hiring For — We're especially interested in experts with deep, hands-on experience in: — Computational Chemistry & Electronic Structure — working with PySCF for quantum chemistry calculations including Hartree-Fock, DFT, TDDFT, CASSCF, and post-HF methods. Ideal candidates can design problems around excited-state analysis, orbital diagnostics, choosing the right method for tricky electronic structures, and interpreting computational artifacts that come from method limitations. — _Experience with other specialized software in this domain will also be considered._ — What Makes a Strong Candidate — You have graduate-level expertise (MS or PhD preferred) in the domain above, with real hands-on experience using these tools — not just theoretical knowledge. You've written code using these libraries to solve actual research problems, and you understand where they break, what their edge cases are, and what makes a problem genuinely hard rather than just complicated. — Beyond domain expertise, the best candidates think like puzzle designers: building problems where the challenge comes from smart reasoning rather than raw computation, where several approaches seem plausible but only careful analysis reveals the right one, and where surface-level pattern matching won't get you to the answer. — Requirements • Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM field (MS, PhD, or equivalent research experience) • Proven proficiency with at least one of the listed scientific software libraries, shown through research publications, open-source contributions, or professional work • Strong Python skills — you'll be writing problem setups, oracle functions, and solution validators • Ability to work independently and refine problem designs based on feedback • Comfortable working in a Linux/terminal environment with remote compute sandboxes • Available for at least 15–20 hours per week — Nice to Have • Experience across multiple listed domains or tools • Familiarity with benchmark or evaluation design • Background in scientific teaching or exam/problem-set design • Experience with computational reproducibility and containerized environments

$70 - $100 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Computational Particle & Nuclear Physics Expert

Particle & Nuclear Physics Expert — About the Project — We're building a large-scale benchmark to test how well advanced AI systems can solve hard scientific and engineering problems. As a task designer, you'll create challenging computational problems that check whether AI can use real scientific software to do research-level work — running simulations, interpreting results, designing experiments, and uncovering hidden information from data. — This isn't a typical data-labeling job. You'll design original, graduate-level problems based on real scientific workflows, test them against cutting-edge AI models, and fine-tune them until the difficulty is just right. — What You'll Do — You'll create problems that require skilled use of specialized scientific software. Some will ask the AI to compute exact answers from a fully defined setup — testing whether it can correctly carry out complex, multi-step workflows. Others will be harder: the AI must plan a series of queries or experiments to uncover information that isn't directly visible, which means thinking strategically about what to measure, how to read partial results, and how to narrow down the possibilities efficiently. — Each problem goes through a testing loop against state-of-the-art AI models, and you'll refine it until it hits the target difficulty. — Domains & Tools We're Hiring For — We're especially interested in experts with deep, hands-on experience in: — Particle & Nuclear Physics — working with scikit-hep and related HEP Python tools for particle physics data analysis, cross-section computations, renormalization group calculations, and perturbative QCD. Experience with Monte Carlo event generation or collider phenomenology is a plus. — _Experience with other specialized software in this domain will also be considered._ — What Makes a Strong Candidate — You have graduate-level expertise (MS or PhD preferred) in the domain above, with real hands-on experience using these tools — not just theoretical knowledge. You've written code using these libraries to solve actual research problems, and you understand where they break, what their edge cases are, and what makes a problem genuinely hard rather than just complicated. — Beyond domain expertise, the best candidates think like puzzle designers: building problems where the challenge comes from smart reasoning rather than raw computation, where several approaches seem plausible but only careful analysis reveals the right one, and where surface-level pattern matching won't get you to the answer. — Requirements • Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM field (MS, PhD, or equivalent research experience) • Proven proficiency with at least one of the listed scientific software libraries, shown through research publications, open-source contributions, or professional work • Strong Python skills — you'll be writing problem setups, oracle functions, and solution validators • Ability to work independently and refine problem designs based on feedback • Comfortable working in a Linux/terminal environment with remote compute sandboxes • Available for at least 15–20 hours per week — Nice to Have • Experience across multiple listed domains or tools • Familiarity with benchmark or evaluation design • Background in scientific teaching or exam/problem-set design • Experience with computational reproducibility and containerized environments

$70 - $100 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Computational Astrophysics & Cosmology Expert

Computational Astrophysics & Cosmology Expert — About the Project — We're building a large-scale benchmark to test how well advanced AI systems can solve hard scientific and engineering problems. As a task designer, you'll create challenging computational problems that check whether AI can use real scientific software to do research-level work — running simulations, interpreting results, designing experiments, and uncovering hidden information from data. — This isn't a typical data-labeling job. You'll design original, graduate-level problems based on real scientific workflows, test them against cutting-edge AI models, and fine-tune them until the difficulty is just right. — What You'll Do — You'll create problems that require skilled use of specialized scientific software. Some will ask the AI to compute exact answers from a fully defined setup — testing whether it can correctly carry out complex, multi-step workflows. Others will be harder: the AI must plan a series of queries or experiments to uncover information that isn't directly visible, which means thinking strategically about what to measure, how to read partial results, and how to narrow down the possibilities efficiently. — Each problem goes through a testing loop against state-of-the-art AI models, and you'll refine it until it hits the target difficulty. — Domains & Tools We're Hiring For — We're especially interested in experts with deep, hands-on experience in: — Astrophysics & Cosmology — working with astropy and related tools for cosmological calculations, angular power spectra, galaxy survey analysis, and observational data reduction pipelines. — _Experience with other specialized software in this domain will also be considered._ — What Makes a Strong Candidate — You have graduate-level expertise (MS or PhD preferred) in the domain above, with real hands-on experience using these tools — not just theoretical knowledge. You've written code using these libraries to solve actual research problems, and you understand where they break, what their edge cases are, and what makes a problem genuinely hard rather than just complicated. — Beyond domain expertise, the best candidates think like puzzle designers: building problems where the challenge comes from smart reasoning rather than raw computation, where several approaches seem plausible but only careful analysis reveals the right one, and where surface-level pattern matching won't get you to the answer. — Requirements • Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM field (MS, PhD, or equivalent research experience) • Proven proficiency with at least one of the listed scientific software libraries, shown through research publications, open-source contributions, or professional work • Strong Python skills — you'll be writing problem setups, oracle functions, and solution validators • Ability to work independently and refine problem designs based on feedback • Comfortable working in a Linux/terminal environment with remote compute sandboxes • Available for at least 15–20 hours per week — Nice to Have • Experience across multiple listed domains or tools • Familiarity with benchmark or evaluation design • Background in scientific teaching or exam/problem-set design • Experience with computational reproducibility and containerized environments

$70 - $100 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / US Remote

Architecture Expert

Join a growing network of industry experts supporting AI research and development. — Overview — We're building a select group of experienced architects to help evaluate and improve how AI systems understand and reason about architecture topics. You'll bring your real-world expertise to review content for accuracy, answer domain-specific questions, and share feedback that helps make AI tools more reliable and useful in architecture contexts. — This is a flexible, part-time engagement — approximately 10 hours per week, fully remote, with the opportunity to continue and grow over time. — What You'll Do • Review and evaluate written content and AI-generated responses in your area of architectural expertise for accuracy and quality. • Answer questions and provide clear, well-reasoned feedback based on your professional experience. • Help identify useful reference material relevant to your field. • Share insight into how architects actually work — the tools, workflows, and standards you rely on day to day. • Collaborate with a small group of other subject-matter experts across different fields. — What We're Looking For • Degree-qualified architect holding a professional architecture license in the US. • 2+ years of professional architecture experience, ideally across more than one project type (residential, commercial, institutional). • Familiarity with building codes and standards (e.g. IBC) and common tools (Revit, AutoCAD, BIM, or similar). • A portfolio of built or realized work — not purely academic or conceptual projects — is a plus. • Comfortable using everyday AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT or similar). • Based in the United States. • Professional working English. • Able to commit reliably to about 10 hours per week. — About Cincinnatus LLC: Cincinnatus LLC is an enterprise staffing company that partners with leading technology companies to source and employ highly skilled professionals for contingent and contract-based opportunities. Cincinnatus serves as the employer of record for these engagements, providing W-2 employment, payroll, benefits, and compliance, while placing employees directly within client teams to work on high-impact initiatives. — Equal Employment Opportunity: Cincinnatus is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or any other legally protected characteristic.

$65 - $90 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Biology Research Scientist (BA, MS, PhD's)

About the Role — Mercor is partnering with a leading AI research organization to verify protein target assignments in large-scale bioactivity databases (ChEMBL, BindingDB). You will read primary literature, apply scientific judgment, and determine whether UniProt IDs accurately reflect the proteins being studied — work that directly feeds AI drug discovery pipelines. — What You'll Do • Access primary sources (papers, patents) to verify protein target assignments against UniProt records • Flag and classify target assignment errors using a structured taxonomy • Propose correct UniProt accessions where assignments are wrong • Write concise, evidence-grounded notes explaining your reasoning — Requirements • BA/BS with 5+ years, MS with 2+ years, or PhD with industry or drug discovery research experience, in pharmacology, biochemistry, molecular biology, or chemical biology at a biotech, pharma, or CRO • Hands-on binding or functional assay experience (SPR, TR-FRET, radioligand binding, kinase assays, GPCR functional assays, IC50/Ki/KD) • Currently bench-active in a research, scientist, or associate scientist role • Working fluency with UniProt or adjacent workflows: SAR support, HTS, target validation, biochemical profiling, or IND-enabling studies — Nice to Have • Direct experience with ChEMBL, BindingDB, or PubChem • Selectivity profiling or counterscreening experience • Familiarity with agonist/antagonist vs. activator/inhibitor distinctions — Role Details • 10–20 hrs/week | Remote | Immediate start • 1–2 month minimum, extension likely • U.S. only

$50 - $70 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Generalist Expert

Overview — In this role, you will evaluate AI-generated responses and provide structured written feedback. This is a great opportunity for sharp, analytical thinkers to contribute to high-impact AI research projects. — Basic Qualifications • Bachelor's degree from a top-500 globally ranked university preferred • Strong analytical and written communication skills • Ability to work independently and follow detailed task guidelines — Required Skills • Strong critical reading skills with the ability to identify nuance, implicit meaning, and gaps in reasoning • Ability to write clear, precise, and well-evidenced written rationales that go beyond surface-level observations • Consistent and honest judgment, including the ability to give critical assessments when warranted • Strict attention to detail and accurate application of structured evaluation guidelines • Ability to work entirely without AI writing tools — Eligibility • Native English fluency required

$70 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Computational Seismology & Geophysics Expert

Computational Seismology & Geophysics Expert — About the Project — We're building a large-scale benchmark to test how well advanced AI systems can solve hard scientific and engineering problems. As a task designer, you'll create challenging computational problems that check whether AI can use real scientific software to do research-level work — running simulations, interpreting results, designing experiments, and uncovering hidden information from data. — This isn't a typical data-labeling job. You'll design original, graduate-level problems based on real scientific workflows, test them against cutting-edge AI models, and fine-tune them until the difficulty is just right. — What You'll Do — You'll create problems that require skilled use of specialized scientific software. Some will ask the AI to compute exact answers from a fully defined setup — testing whether it can correctly carry out complex, multi-step workflows. Others will be harder: the AI must plan a series of queries or experiments to uncover information that isn't directly visible, which means thinking strategically about what to measure, how to read partial results, and how to narrow down the possibilities efficiently. — Each problem goes through a testing loop against state-of-the-art AI models, and you'll refine it until it hits the target difficulty. — Domains & Tools We're Hiring For — We're especially interested in experts with deep, hands-on experience in: — Computational Seismology & Geophysics — hands-on experience with open-source, domain-specific computational tools such as SPECFEM, ObsPy, Pyrocko, SimPEG, pyGIMLi, SeisBench, EQcorrscan, or Fatiando a Terra, for seismic wave propagation and numerical simulation, synthetic seismogram generation, full-waveform inversion (FWI), seismic imaging, travel-time tomography, moment tensor inversion, event detection/location, or related computational geophysics workflows. — Experience with other open-source computational seismology or geophysics software will also be considered, including tools and scientific codes built with Python, C, C++, or Fortran. — What Makes a Strong Candidate — You have graduate-level expertise (MS or PhD preferred) in the domain above, with real hands-on experience using these tools — not just theoretical knowledge. You've written code using these libraries to solve actual research problems, and you understand where they break, what their edge cases are, and what makes a problem genuinely hard rather than just complicated. — Beyond domain expertise, the best candidates think like puzzle designers: building problems where the challenge comes from smart reasoning rather than raw computation, where several approaches seem plausible but only careful analysis reveals the right one, and where surface-level pattern matching won't get you to the answer. — Requirements • Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM field (MS, PhD, or equivalent research experience) • Proven proficiency with at least one of the listed scientific software libraries, shown through research publications, open-source contributions, or professional work • Strong Python skills — you'll be writing problem setups, oracle functions, and solution validators • Ability to work independently and refine problem designs based on feedback • Comfortable working in a Linux/terminal environment with remote compute sandboxes • Available for at least 15–20 hours per week — Nice to Have • Experience across multiple listed domains or tools • Familiarity with benchmark or evaluation design • Background in scientific teaching or exam/problem-set design • Experience with computational reproducibility and containerized environments

$70 - $85 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Computational Pharmacokinetics & Systems Biology Expert

Computational Pharmacokinetics & Systems Biology Expert — About the Project — We're building a large-scale benchmark to test how well advanced AI systems can solve hard scientific and engineering problems. As a task designer, you'll create challenging computational problems that check whether AI can use real scientific software to do research-level work — running simulations, interpreting results, designing experiments, and uncovering hidden information from data. — This isn't a typical data-labeling job. You'll design original, graduate-level problems based on real scientific workflows, test them against cutting-edge AI models, and fine-tune them until the difficulty is just right. — What You'll Do — You'll create problems that require skilled use of specialized scientific software. Some will ask the AI to compute exact answers from a fully defined setup — testing whether it can correctly carry out complex, multi-step workflows. Others will be harder: the AI must plan a series of queries or experiments to uncover information that isn't directly visible, which means thinking strategically about what to measure, how to read partial results, and how to narrow down the possibilities efficiently. — Each problem goes through a testing loop against state-of-the-art AI models, and you'll refine it until it hits the target difficulty. — Domains & Tools We're Hiring For — We're especially interested in experts with deep, hands-on experience in: — Pharmacokinetics & Systems Biology — working with libRoadRunner, Tellurium, or SBML-based tools for compartmental PK/PD modeling, enzyme kinetics, or systems biology simulations. — _Experience with other specialized software in this domain will also be considered._ — What Makes a Strong Candidate — You have graduate-level expertise (MS or PhD preferred) in the domain above, with real hands-on experience using these tools — not just theoretical knowledge. You've written code using these libraries to solve actual research problems, and you understand where they break, what their edge cases are, and what makes a problem genuinely hard rather than just complicated. — Beyond domain expertise, the best candidates think like puzzle designers: building problems where the challenge comes from smart reasoning rather than raw computation, where several approaches seem plausible but only careful analysis reveals the right one, and where surface-level pattern matching won't get you to the answer. — Requirements • Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM field (MS, PhD, or equivalent research experience) • Proven proficiency with at least one of the listed scientific software libraries, shown through research publications, open-source contributions, or professional work • Strong Python skills — you'll be writing problem setups, oracle functions, and solution validators • Ability to work independently and refine problem designs based on feedback • Comfortable working in a Linux/terminal environment with remote compute sandboxes • Available for at least 15–20 hours per week — Nice to Have • Experience across multiple listed domains or tools • Familiarity with benchmark or evaluation design • Background in scientific teaching or exam/problem-set design • Experience with computational reproducibility and containerized environments

$70 - $85 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Applied Chemistry Benchmark Specialist

Role Overview — We are seeking expert chemists to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core chemistry domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities. — You will be assigned one of two task types: • Question Authoring — Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of chemistry expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review. • Question Verification — Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made. — Chemistry Domains Covered — Materials, Polymer & Electronic Chemistry, Industrial & Process Chemistry, Energy Storage & Environmental Chemistry, Pharmaceutical & Agrochemical Chemistry, Consumer, Food & Specialty Chemicals. — Key Responsibilities • Author original chemistry questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall • Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined — all necessary information must be in the problem statement • Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above) • Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers • Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise intermediate steps in markdown format • Supply 1–5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories) • For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made — Ideal Qualifications • PhD or doctoral candidate in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field • Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain • Strong command of graduate-level chemistry concepts, reaction mechanisms, and quantitative analysis • Experience with rigorous academic problem design or chemistry olympiad writing is a strong plus • Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely — More About the Opportunity • Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week • Asynchronous, fully remote work

$61 - $77 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist

Role Overview — We are seeking expert physicists to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core physics domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities. — You will be assigned one of two task types: • Question Authoring — Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of physics expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review. • Question Verification — Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made. — Physics Domains Covered — Semiconductor Physics, Nanoelectronics & Spintronics, Photonics, Quantum Optics & Ultrafast, Quantum Sensing & Metrology, Plasma Physics & Fusion Energy, Nonlinear Dynamics & Turbulence, Geophysics & Reservoir Simulation. — Key Responsibilities • Author original physics questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall • Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined — all necessary information must be in the problem statement • Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above) • Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers • Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise intermediate steps in markdown format • Supply 1–5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories) • For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made — Ideal Qualifications • PhD or doctoral candidate in Physics, Applied Physics, Astrophysics, or a closely related field • Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain • Strong command of graduate-level physics concepts and mathematical formalism • Experience with rigorous academic problem design or physics olympiad writing is a strong plus • Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely — More About the Opportunity • Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week • Asynchronous, fully remote work

$61 - $77 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Chess Expert (1800+ ELO) — Game Reconstruction & Transcript Correction

We're hiring strong chess players to help build a high-quality chess dataset for an AI research partner: — 1. Transcript Correction — Watch a video of a strong player narrating a game and fix speech-to-text errors in the commentary transcript (piece names, squares, moves). The form syncs the transcript to the video (click a word to jump there). 2. Game Reconstruction (the main task) — Working ONLY from the corrected transcript (no video, no searching for the source game), rebuild the full game on an analysis board (lichess/chess.com) and paste the PGN. Then determine whether the transcript uniquely specifies the complete game; if not, itemize the minimal missing information needed. — You're a fit if you: • Are rated 1800+ ELO (FIDE or online equivalent) • Read algebraic notation fluently and are comfortable using an analysis board • Have a strong ear for spoken chess commentary and careful attention to detail

$90 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Applied Biology Benchmark Specialist

Role Overview — We are seeking expert biologists to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core biology domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities. — You will be assigned one of two task types: • Question Authoring — Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of biology expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review. • Question Verification — Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made. — Biology Domains Covered — Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Industrial and Synthetic Biology, Medical Research & Drug Discovery, Agricultural, Environmental & Food Biology. — Key Responsibilities • Author original biology questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall • Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined — all necessary information must be in the problem statement • Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above) • Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers • Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise intermediate steps in markdown format • Supply 1–5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories) • For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made — Ideal Qualifications • PhD or doctoral candidate in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Neuroscience, or a closely related field • Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain • Strong command of graduate-level biological concepts, experimental design, and data interpretation • Research publications or laboratory experience in biological sciences is a strong plus • Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely — More About the Opportunity • Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week • Asynchronous, fully remote work

$60 - $75 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Applied Philosophy Benchmark Specialist

Role Overview — We are seeking expert philosophers to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core philosophy domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities. — You will be assigned one of two task types: • Question Authoring — Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of philosophy expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review. • Question Verification — Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made. — Philosophy Domains Covered — Formal Ontology & Knowledge Representation, AI Ethics, Applied Epistemology, Philosophy of Technology & Robotics, Philosophy of Science. — Key Responsibilities • Author original philosophy questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall • Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined — all necessary information must be in the problem statement • Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above) • Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers • Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise reasoning in markdown format • Supply 1–5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories) • For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made — Ideal Qualifications • PhD or doctoral candidate in Philosophy or a closely related field • Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain • Strong command of philosophical argumentation, formal logic, and canonical texts across traditions • Research publications or teaching experience in philosophy is a strong plus • Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely — More About the Opportunity • Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week • Asynchronous, fully remote work

$50 - $63 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Education Expert - Sourcing Funnel (Private)

Role Overview — Mercor is collaborating with a leading AI lab to engage experienced educators across all areas of practice — including K-12 and higher-education teaching, curriculum development and instructional design, assessment and psychometrics, special education, tutoring and academic support, and educational technology. Contributors help build AI systems that reason about real educational work by translating everyday teaching, assessment, and instructional-design workflows, judgments, and decision-making into structured, high-quality training data. — Key Responsibilities — \- Design realistic educational scenarios and tasks drawn from your day-to-day work (e.g., lesson planning, assessment and item writing, grading against a rubric, differentiation and intervention, curriculum and unit design, IEPs and accommodations, student feedback) — \- Review and compare AI-generated educational outputs for accuracy, standards alignment (e.g., Common Core, NGSS, state or discipline standards), grade-level appropriateness, and sound pedagogical judgment — \- Create structured examples that reflect how educators actually reason through problems — \- Provide clear written feedback that improves how AI performs teaching and instructional tasks — \- Collaborate asynchronously with the research team — Ideal Qualifications — \- 3+ years of professional experience in education (K-12 or higher-ed teaching, curriculum/instructional design, assessment, special education, tutoring, or a related field) — \- A state teaching license/certification, National Board Certification, or an advanced degree (MEd/EdD/PhD or a subject master's) preferred, but not required — \- Bachelor's degree in Education or a subject-matter field — \- Comfortable with common classroom and instructional tools (e.g., Google Classroom, Canvas, an SIS such as PowerSchool, assessment and curriculum platforms) — \- Strong written communication and attention to detail — More About the Opportunity — \- Open to all education specialties and grade bands — contribute where your expertise is strongest — \- Work spans task design, evaluation, and structured feedback on AI educational outputs — \- Strong contributors advance into reviewer, lead, and domain-expert roles — Application Process — \- Submit a resume or a short summary of your teaching or education experience — \- Complete a short form on your field, specialties, and credentials — \- Selected applicants may complete a brief sample task — \- Follow-up typically provided within a few days

$45 - $60 / hourOpen / Referral verified
STEM / Remote

Applied History & Political Science Benchmark Specialist

Role Overview — We are seeking experts in history and political science to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core history and political science domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities. — You will be assigned one of two task types: • Question Authoring — Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review. • Question Verification — Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made. — History & Political Science Domains Covered — National Security, Public Policy, Business History, Environmental History, Latin American History. — Key Responsibilities • Author original history and political science questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall • Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined — all necessary information must be in the problem statement • Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above) • Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers • Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise reasoning in markdown format • Supply 1–5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories) • For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made — Ideal Qualifications • PhD or doctoral candidate in History, Political Science, International Relations, or a closely related field • Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain • Strong command of historiographical methods, political theory, and comparative analysis • Research publications or policy experience is a strong plus • Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely — More About the Opportunity • Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week • Asynchronous, fully remote work

$44 - $56 / hourOpen / Referral verified