Chemistry PhD - Quantum Specialist - AI Trainer

Mercor; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 83,000 - 124,000; 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 author original, executable research problems that frontier models cannot solve.

The engagement is 6 weeks long, part-time with 20+ hours per week, starting immediately. You will source materials, write prompt-based tasks, and calibrate grading criteria to challenge models.

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, computational chemistry, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated depth in both 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.

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

Quantum chemistry

Computational chemistry

Python

R

Education

PhD in chemistry or related field

Tools

Git/GitHub

Docker

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