Chemistry PhD - Quantum Specialist

Mercor; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 8,266,000 - 11,572,000; Part time

Job summary

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

This 6-week, part-time role involves sourcing materials, writing prompts, building grading criteria, and calibrating against state-of-the-art models, with a focus on chemistry-related subdomains and a strong coding emphasis.

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, computational chemistry, or closely related field.
• Demonstrated depth in 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 with PR workflows.

Responsibilities

• Source material: a published paper, Kaggle dataset, open-source repo, or a self-designed scenario.
• Write scientific prompts based on the input.
• Build grading criteria that define a correct answer.
• Calibrate against frontier models; ship a task when models fail more often than they succeed.

Skills

Python

Git/GitHub

Docker

Research skills

Education

PhD in chemistry or related field

Tools

Jupyter

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)

• 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

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