Chemistry PhD Coding Experts

Weekday AI; United States; Remote; USD 83,000 - 110,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is hiring PhD- or Masters-level scientists to author AI evaluation tasks (Sci Code) for a new benchmark in scientific computing. This fully remote, six-week engagement is part-time (20+ hours/week) and pays $70 per hour with weekly payments via Stripe or Wise.

You'll source material, write prompts, and build grading criteria. You will calibrate tasks against frontier models so only those that confuse advanced systems ship.

Qualifications

• PhD or MSc in a chemistry-related field.
• Demonstrated depth in quantum chemistry and computational chemistry.
• Proficiency in Python, R or equivalent languages for scientific computing.

Responsibilities

• Source material: published paper, dataset, repo, or original scenario.
• Write scientific prompts based on input data.
• Build grading criteria that define correct answers.
• Calibrate tasks to frontier models so only hard problems ship.

Skills

Python

R

Education

PhD in chemistry, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, computational chemistry, or closely related field

Tools

Git/GitHub

Docker

Job description

This role is for one of our clients

Compensation: $70 per hour

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

We are 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)

• Chemistry — quantum chemistry, computational chemistry

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 chemistry, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, computational chemistry, or a closely related field
• Demonstrated depth in both of the following subdomains: quantum chemistry and computational chemistry
• 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

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

Contract and Payment Terms

• You will be engaged as an independent contractor.
• This is a fully remote role that can be completed on your own schedule.
• Projects can be extended, shortened, or concluded early depending on needs and performance.
• Your work at Mercor will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer, client, or institution.
• Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise based on services rendered.
• Please note: We are unable to support H1-B or STEM OPT candidates at this time.