Biology PhD - Scientific Coder

Mercor; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 83,000 - 124,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Publications in peer-reviewed journals

Prior scientific software or research‑

Job summary

Mercor is recruiting PhD and Master’s level scientists to author AI evaluation tasks (Sci Code) for a new benchmark in scientific computing. You will craft original, executable research problems that current frontier models cannot solve.

Requirements include a PhD in biology or related fields, demonstrated depth in two biology subdomains, and proficiency in Python or R. Experience with Docker and Git/GitHub is preferred. Duration is 6 weeks, part-time with 20+ hours per week, and immediate start.

Qualifications

• PhD required in biology or closely related field.
• Demonstrated depth in at least two of ecology, biochemistry, genetics.

Responsibilities

• Source own material: a published paper, Kaggle dataset, open-source repo, or designed scenario.
• Write scientific prompts based on the input.
• Build grading criteria that define a correct answer.
• Calibrate against frontier models where strong models fail.

Skills

Python proficiency

Git/GitHub

Scientific computing

Education

PhD in biology or related field

Tools

Python

R

Docker

Git/GitHub

Job description

Mercor is hiring PhD and Master's scientists to author AI evaluation tasks (Sci Code)

Mercor is partnering with leading AI labs on a new benchmark for scientific computing. You will author original, executable research problems that today's frontier models cannot solve.

Domains — depth required in at least two subdomains (with a coding focus)

• Biology — ecology, biochemistry, genetics

What you'll do

• Source your own material: a published paper, a Kaggle dataset, an open-source repository, or a scenario you design

• Write scientific prompts based on the input

• Build the grading criteria that define a correct answer

• Calibrate against frontier models — a task ships only when strong models fail it more often than they succeed

Required

• PhD in biology, biological sciences, biochemistry, genetics, ecology, or a closely related field

• Demonstrated depth in at least two of the following subdomains: ecology, biochemistry, genetics

• Working proficiency in Python, R, or another relevant programming language for scientific computing

• Comfortable with Git/GitHub and running code in Docker — authoring runs through a pull-request workflow with automated quality checks

Preferred

• Publications in peer-reviewed journals

• Prior scientific software or research engineering experience

Engagement

• Duration: 6 weeks

• Commitment: part-time, 20+ hours per week

• Start date: immediate

Process

1. Upload your resume and application form

2. A 25-minute conversational interview covering your background, experience, and motivations

3. Follow up within a few days with next steps and onboarding