Preclinical R&D Scientist - Drug Expert

Mercor; San Francisco (CA); On-site; GBP 87,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking a Preclinical R&D Expert for in-house drug development, a remote contract role offering a challenging opportunity in AI-driven research. You will review R&D data, label and annotate scientific information, and provide expert guidance on target and modality selection while helping shape the dataset pipeline and AI platform strategy.

The position requires 5+ years of industry R&D, with hands-on experience across discovery biology, pharmacology, toxicology, CMC, and drug

Qualifications

• Hands-on, non-administrative preclinical R&D experience at a company that develops its own drug assets.
• Work in a core R&D function: discovery biology, medicinal chemistry, protein/antibody engineering, computational, in vivo/translational, pharmacology/PK-PD, toxicology, or CMC/formulation.
• Hands-on experience with one or more drug modalities (small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, peptides, ADCs, etc.).
• 5+ years of relevant industry R&D experience.

Responsibilities

• Review technical materials and real-world R&D data in your area of expertise to improve AI model performance.
• Label, classify, and annotate scientific data and model outputs to enhance model accuracy.
• Provide expert perspective on key scientific and development decisions, including target and modality selection.
• Help define structure and quality standards for the client's dataset pipeline.
• Participate in expert discussions, interviews, and research engagements to guide AI platform development.

Skills

AI model evaluation

Data labeling

Scientific data analysis

Preclinical R&D experience

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: Preclinical R&D Expert – In-house Drug Development

Type: Contract

Compensation: $85–$142/hour

Location: Remote

Role Responsibilities

• Review technical materials and real-world R&D data in your area of expertise to improve AI model performance.
• Label, classify, and annotate scientific data and model outputs to enhance model accuracy.
• Provide expert perspective on key scientific and development decisions, including target and modality selection.
• Help define structure and quality standards for the client's dataset pipeline.
• Participate in expert discussions, interviews, and research engagements to guide AI platform development.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• Hands-on, non-administrative preclinical R&D experience at a company that develops its own drug assets.
• Work in a core R&D function: discovery biology, medicinal chemistry, protein/antibody engineering, computational, in vivo/translational, pharmacology/PK-PD, toxicology, or CMC/formulation.
• Hands-on experience with one or more drug modalities (small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, peptides, ADCs, bispecifics, mRNA, siRNA, ASOs, PROTACs, molecular glues, cell therapies, gene therapies, radioligand therapies, etc.).
• 5+ years of relevant industry R&D experience.

Preferred

• Experience taking a program through lead optimization or IND-enabling/preclinical development.
• Experience at mid-sized, emerging, or resource-constrained biotech.

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]

PS: Our team reviews applications daily. Please complete your AI interview and application steps to be considered for this opportunity.