Chemistry PhD - Assessment Specialist

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

Job summary

Mercor is seeking an Applied Chemistry Benchmark Specialist for a remote contract role. You will author original chemistry questions that test deep conceptual understanding, ensure clarity and self-containment, and rate difficulty levels from Medium to Expert.

The ideal candidate holds a PhD or is a doctoral candidate in Chemistry (Master’s considered for exceptional depth). Excellent written English and the ability to express complex ideas concisely are essential; experience with problem design

Qualifications

• PhD or doctoral candidate in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, or closely related field.
• Master's degree considered for exceptional depth in a specific subdomain.
• Strong command of graduate-level chemistry concepts, reaction mechanisms, and quantitative analysis.
• Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely.

Responsibilities

• Author original chemistry questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall.
• Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined with all necessary information included.
• Rate each question's difficulty as Medium, Hard, or Expert, and provide 1 correct answer with 9 plausible alternatives.
• 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 like peer-reviewed journals.
• For verification tasks, flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made.

Skills

Graduate-level chemistry

Strong written English

Quantitative analysis

Reaction mechanisms

Education

PhD in Chemistry or related field

Master's degree 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 Chemistry Benchmark Specialist. Type: Contract. Compensation: $61–$77/hour. Location: Remote. Commitment: 10+ hours/week.

Role Responsibilities

• Author original chemistry questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall.
• Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined with all necessary information included.
• Rate each question's difficulty as Medium, Hard, or Expert, and provide 1 correct answer with 9 plausible alternatives.
• 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 like peer-reviewed journals.
• For verification tasks, flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made.

Qualifications Must-Have

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

Preferred

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