Applied Physics PhD - Benchmark Expert

mercor; Deutschland; Remote; EUR 75,000 - 95,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor seeks a contract Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist to craft original physics questions that probe deep concepts. You will rate difficulty levels, develop challenging distractors, and provide meticulous solutions with references.

Remote, part-time engagement up to 10+ hours per week, with compensation in USD per hour. Candidates should have a PhD or be doctoral candidates in physics-related fields and demonstrate precise, clear technical writing.

Qualifications

• PhD or doctoral candidate in Physics, Applied Physics, Astrophysics, or closely related field.
• Strong command of graduate-level physics concepts and mathematical formalism.
• Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely.

Responsibilities

• Create original physics questions testing deep understanding.
• Ensure questions are unambiguous and self-contained.
• Rate questions by difficulty: Medium, Hard, or Expert.
• Provide 1 correct answer plus 9 plausible distractors.
• Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions in markdown.
• Provide 1–5 academic references per question.
• Flag clarity/solvability issues and justify edits.

Skills

Graduate physics concepts

Clear scientific writing

olympiad-style problem design

Education

PhD in Physics or related

Master's considered

Job description

About the job Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, our investors include Benchmark , General Catalyst , Peter Thiel , Adam D'Angelo , Larry Summers , and Jack Dorsey . Position: Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist Type: Contract Compensation: $61-$77/hour Location: Remote Commitment: 10+ hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Author original physics questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall.
• Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined with all necessary information 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.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• 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.
• Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely.

Preferred

• Experience with rigorous academic problem design or physics olympiad writing is a strong plus.