Specialty Materials Chemist — Pyrotechnics or Propulsion

Mercor; India; Remote; INR 8,408,000 - 9,701,000; Full time

Job summary

Mercor is assembling a panel of energetic materials and propulsion experts to red‑team frontier AI models. You will write challenging prompts across benign, dual‑use, and adversarial levels, and craft reference answers with technical reasoning.

This is a writing‑intensive role focused on misuse potential in energetic materials and propulsion. The role requires documented technical writing experience and the ability to clearly explain complex judgments to non‑experts.

Qualifications

• Backgrounds include formulation chemist for pyrotechnics or energetic materials.
• Experience in synthesis and characterization of energetic compounds in licensed/government facility.
• Experience with calorimetry, thermal stability, and small-scale safety testing.
• Scale-up and process safety for energetic materials production.
• Solid or liquid rocket propellant development—binders, oxidisers, burn-rate modifiers.

Responsibilities

• Write challenging single-turn prompts in your domain, labeled benign/dual-use/adversarial.
• Create reference answers and technical reasoning for prompts.
• Read and review misuse scenarios in the field and provide written rationales.

Job description

Specialty Materials Chemist — Pyrotechnics or Propulsion

Company: Mercor. Compensation: $65-$75 per task. Commitment: Contract. Location: Remote. Referral Reward: Earn up to $250 per successful referral. Referral Link: https://t.mercor.com/y8Bng

About the work

Mercor is assembling a panel of energetic materials and propulsion experts to red‑team frontier AI models. The goal is to test whether a model can correctly judge the misuse potential of a technical request — answering legitimate questions fully while refusing genuinely dangerous ones. You will: Write challenging single-turn prompts in your domain, labelled across three levels: benign, dual‑use, and adversarial. Evaluate the responses that come back against a defined policy standard, and judge whether each was handled correctly. Write the reference answer — what a correct response looks like, and the technical reasoning for why. This domain lives on the dual‑use line more than most. The same formulation work that qualifies a propellant or a display composition sits next to something nobody should be helped with; the same sensitivity data that protects a production line reads as a specification from the other side. A model that refuses a routine thermal‑stability question is failing as badly as one that answers a question it shouldn't. Drawing that line reliably is why we need practitioners rather than generalists.

Background we’re looking for

Examples of relevant backgrounds (ideally with red‑team experience):

• Formulation chemist for pyrotechnics, propellants or specialty energetic materials
• Synthesis and characterisation of energetic compounds in a licensed or government facility
• Performance and sensitivity testing — calorimetry, thermal stability, small‑scale safety testing
• Scale‑up and process safety for energetic material production
• Solid or liquid rocket propellant development — binders, oxidisers, burn‑rate modifiers

What this role demands beyond technical depth

This is writing‑intensive work. Every judgment you make needs a written rationale that a non‑specialist can follow. Prior technical writing, published research, or expert witness experience is a strong signal; please include a sample or link. You will also be reading and writing about misuse scenarios in your field for sustained periods. We brief experts on this in advance, and you can pause or step away at any point without penalty.

We consider all qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics and provide reasonable accommodations upon request.