Applied Physics Phd - Benchmark Expert

Mercor; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 64,000 - 80,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking an Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist in a remote, contract role. Pay ranges from $61 to $77 per hour, with a commitment of 10+ hours per week. The role focuses on designing rigorous physics problems for AI research contexts and requires expert-level physics credentials.

The candidate will craft questions with clear statements, provide correct answers and distractors, and supply references. Strong English, formalism, and the ability to present solutions clearly are essential.

Qualifications

• PhD in Physics, Applied Physics or closely related field.
• Master's degree considered for exceptional depth.
• Strong command of graduate-level physics concepts and mathematical formalism.
• Excellent written English ability to express complex ideas clearly.

Responsibilities

• Author original physics questions testing deep conceptual understanding.
• Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined.
• Rate question difficulty as Medium, Hard, or Expert.
• Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible distractors.
• Write step-by-step solutions in markdown format.
• Supply 1–5 academic references per question.
• Flag clarity/solvability issues and justify edits.

Skills

Graduate-level physics concepts

Mathematical formalism

Excellent written English

Education

PhD in Physics or closely related field

Master's degree considered for exceptional depth

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. 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.

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.

Resources & Support

• For details about the interview process and platform information, please check: https://talent.docs.mercor.com/welcome
• For any help or support, reach out to: [e-mail]