Bioinformatics PhD - Genomics Specialist

Mercor; Berlin; Vor Ort; EUR 70.000 - 100.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Mercor in Berlin seeks a Bioinformatics & Computational Single-Cell Genomics Expert to design graduate-level computational problems using real scientific workflows. You will work with state-of-the-art software to run simulations, interpret results, and craft experiments that reveal hidden information from data.

You will collaborate on high-throughput benchmarks in single-cell RNA-seq analysis, trajectory inference, and spatial transcriptomics using Scanpy, scVelo, Squidpy, and Gudhi.

Qualifikationen

• Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM field (MS/PhD preferred).
• Proven proficiency with scientific libraries and Python.
• Hands-on coding experience solving real research problems with these tools.
• Ability to design graduate-level, multi-step problems.
• Familiarity with Linux/terminal environments and remote compute sandboxes.
• Available for 15–20 hours per week.

Aufgaben

• Design original computational problems using real workflows.
• Test problems against state-of-the-art AI models.
• Refine tasks until the target difficulty is met.
• Develop problem setups, validators, and assessments.
• Collaborate with domain experts when needed.

Kenntnisse

Graduate-level training

Python programming

Linux/Unix

Bioinformatics

Problem design

Hands-on software experience

Ausbildung

MS or PhD in a relevant STEM field

Tools

Python

Linux

Scanpy

scvelo

squidpy

Gudhi

Jobbeschreibung

Bioinformatics & Computational Single-Cell Genomics Expert

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:

Bioinformatics & Single-Cell Genomics — working with tools like scanpy, scvelo, squidpy, and gudhi for single-cell RNA-seq analysis, trajectory inference, spatial transcriptomics, and topological data analysis. You should be comfortable designing problems around cell-type annotation, pseudotime ordering, multi-omic integration, spatial variable gene identification, and persistence-based analysis pipelines. This is our highest-throughput domain and where we're scaling first.

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