Applied Physics PhD - Benchmark Expert

Mercor; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 103,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking expert physicists to author and review rigorous academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will craft original physics questions across semiconductor physics, nanoelectronics, quantum optics, and more, rate difficulty levels, and provide a correct answer with 9 challenging distractors.

Remote, asynchronous work with 10+ hours per week. Ideal candidates hold a PhD or are doctoral candidates and can deliver step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions in markdown,

Qualifications

• PhD or doctoral candidate in Physics, Applied Physics, or closely related field.
• Master's degree considered for exceptional depth in a subdomain.
• Strong command of graduate-level physics concepts and mathematical formalism.

Responsibilities

• Author original physics questions that test deep conceptual understanding and measure problem-solving.
• Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined with all necessary data in the prompt.
• Rate each question's difficulty: Medium, Hard, or Expert.
• Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible distractors.
• Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions in markdown format and supply 1–5 references per question.
• For verification tasks: flag clarity, completeness, precision, solvability and justify edits.

Skills

Problem design

Academic writing

Graduate physics

Education

PhD in Physics

Master's degree considered

Tools

LaTeX

Markdown

Job description

Role Overview

We are seeking expert physicists to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core physics domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities.

You will be assigned one of two task types:

• Question Authoring — Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of physics expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review.

• Question Verification — Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made.

Physics Domains Covered

Semiconductor Physics, Nanoelectronics & Spintronics, Photonics, Quantum Optics & Ultrafast, Quantum Sensing & Metrology, Plasma Physics & Fusion Energy, Nonlinear Dynamics & Turbulence, Geophysics & Reservoir Simulation.

Key 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

Ideal Qualifications

• 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

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

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

More About the Opportunity

• Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week

• Asynchronous, fully remote work