Mercor is partnering with leading AI labs on a new benchmark for scientific computing and is seeking PhD and Master's-level scientists to author challenging, executable research problems for evaluating frontier AI models. In this role, you'll use your expertise in semiconductor materials and molecular modeling , combined with scientific programming skills, to create rigorous evaluation tasks that test whether advanced AI systems can solve complex research problems.
Responsibilities
- Source original scientific material from published papers, Kaggle datasets, open-source repositories, or self-designed research scenarios.
- Develop scientifically rigorous prompts based on the selected research material.
- Author original, executable scientific computing problems focused on materials science.
- Build detailed grading criteria that define what constitutes a correct and high-quality solution.
- Ensure tasks accurately reflect real-world scientific computing and research workflows.
- Calibrate newly developed tasks against frontier AI models.
- Evaluate whether AI systems can successfully solve the authored problems.
- Refine tasks until they provide meaningful challenges for advanced models.
- Use coding and computational methods to create reproducible scientific evaluation tasks.
- Contribute to a high-quality benchmark for next-generation scientific AI.
Required Qualifications
- PhD in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Applied Physics, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering , or a closely related field.
- Demonstrated depth in both semiconductor materials and molecular modeling .
- Working proficiency in Python, R, or another relevant scientific-computing language .
- Strong understanding of scientific computing and computational research workflows.
- Comfortable working with Git/GitHub .
- Experience running code in Docker .
- Ability to work within a pull-request workflow and automated quality-check environment.
- Strong scientific writing and problem-formulation skills.
- Ability to independently develop rigorous research problems and grading criteria.
Preferred Qualifications
- Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals .
- Previous scientific software development experience.
- Research engineering experience.
- Experience developing computational models or simulations in materials science.
- Familiarity with open-source scientific repositories and research datasets.
- Experience creating reproducible computational research workflows.
Compensation
- $70 per hour
- Remote hourly contract.
- 6-week engagement.
- Part time commitment of 20+ hours per week .
- Immediate start .
Eligibility
- Advanced degree in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Applied Physics, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
- Demonstrated expertise in semiconductor materials and molecular modeling .
- Candidates must have sufficient scientific programming experience to author and execute computational research tasks.
Application Process
1. Upload your resume and complete the application form.
2. Participate in a 25-minute conversational interview covering your background, experience, and motivation.
3. Await follow-up regarding next steps and onboarding.
4. Complete onboarding and begin the six-week scientific computing benchmark engagement.