ADC Expert - Preclinical R&D

Obsidian; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is partnering with a venture-backed AI lab to advance frontier AI platforms for chemistry and drug discovery. They seek hands-on experts in ADC and/or bispecific programs to guide what they build and how data informs model development.

The role blends wet-lab translational experience with AI-driven data science, involving data labeling, annotation, and consensus on development decisions. Part-time engagement (~10 hrs/week) is available, with seniority from IC to Director.

Qualifications

• Hands-on preclinical R&D experience in-house asset development.
• Direct experience with ADCs and/or bispecific antibodies.
• Experience across discovery biology, medicinal chemistry, protein/antibody engineering, computational, PK-PD, toxicology, or CMC/formulation.
• 5+ years of relevant industry R&D experience.
• IND-enabling/preclinical development experience.
• Experience at mid-sized/emerging biotech outside top-20 pharma.

Responsibilities

• Review technical materials and real-world R&D data across ADC and/or bispecific programs.
• Label, classify, and annotate scientific data and model outputs to improve model performance.
• Provide expert perspective on target/modality selection, optimization, trade-offs, and risk.
• Help define structure and quality standards for the client's dataset pipeline.
• Participate in expert discussions, interviews, and research engagements.
• Interface directly with the client team.
• This is an ongoing, part-time engagement of roughly 10 hours per week.
• Seniority welcome from individual contributor through Director.

Skills

ADC expertise

Bispecific antibodies

Preclinical R&D

Translational biology

Job description

Mercor is partnering with a venture-backed AI lab building frontier AI platforms and physics-based foundation models for chemistry, materials science, and drug discovery. They're extending their platform into new areas of pharmaceutical development and are looking for hands-on ADC and/or bispecific experts to help guide what they build.

Are you a preclinical R&D scientist who has taken drug programs from the bench toward the clinic — and curious how AI is reshaping drug discovery? This is a hands-on role that blends your wet-lab and translational experience with a growing understanding of how scientific data trains the next generation of AI models.

In this role, you'll:

• Review technical materials and real-world R&D data across ADC and/or bispecific programs

• Label, classify, and annotate scientific data and model outputs to improve model performance

• Provide expert perspective on key scientific and development decisions (target/modality selection, optimization, trade-offs, risk)

• Help define structure and quality standards for the client's dataset pipeline

• Participate in expert discussions, interviews, and research engagements

You're a strong fit if you:

• Have hands-on, non-administrative preclinical R&D experience at a company that develops its own drug assets in-house and has taken programs to the clinic — Must Have

• Have direct experience with ADCs and/or bispecific (or multispecific) antibodies — Must Have

• 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 — Must Have

• Have 5+ years of relevant industry R&D experience (flexible based on depth)

• Have taken a program through lead optimization or IND-enabling/preclinical development (nice to have)

• Have experience at mid-sized, emerging, or resource-constrained biotech — ideally currently outside the top-20 pharmaceutical companies (nice to have)

This is a hands-on preclinical R&D role — likely not the right fit if your work is mainly CRO/CDMO services, academic-only, QC/analytical-only, clinical-development-only, diagnostics, or regulatory/medical-writing.

Your work will directly feed into the models reshaping how medicines are discovered, helping intelligent systems reason about real-world pharmaceutical R&D.

Here are more details about the role:

• You will interface directly with the client team.

• This is an ongoing, part-time engagement of roughly 10 hours per week.

• Seniority welcome from individual contributor through Director.