Computational Chemist - Fully Remote | Upto $70/hr

mercor; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; GBP 62,000 - 83,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking a Chemistry PhD Coding Expert for a remote contract position. Compensation is $70/hour with a 6-week duration and a commitment of 20+ hours per week.

The role focuses on sourcing material, writing prompts, and building grading criteria to advance AI model testing. Ideal candidates hold a PhD in chemistry (or related field) with deep quantum and computational chemistry experience, and are proficient in Python or R, plus Git/GitHub and Docker.

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry or closely related field.
• Depth in both quantum chemistry and computational chemistry.
• Working proficiency in Python, R, or another language for scientific computing.
• Comfortable with Git/GitHub and running code in Docker.

Responsibilities

• Source material from published papers, Kaggle datasets, open-source repositories, or scenarios you design.
• Write scientific prompts based on the input to challenge AI models.
• Build grading criteria that define a correct answer for scientific tasks.
• Calibrate tasks against frontier models, ensuring tasks ship only when strong models fail more often than they succeed.
• Work independently and asynchronously to meet deadlines while improving AI model performance.

Skills

Python

R

Education

PhD in chemistry

Quantum chemistry

Computational chemistry

Tools

Git/GitHub

Docker

Job description

About the job

Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, our investors include Benchmark , General Catalyst , Peter Thiel , Adam D'Angelo , Larry Summers , and Jack Dorsey .

Position Details

Position: Chemistry PhD Coding Experts
Type: Contract
Compensation: $70/hour
Location: Remote
Duration: 6 weeks
Commitment: 20+ hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Source material from published papers, Kaggle datasets, open-source repositories, or scenarios you design.


• Write scientific prompts based on the input to challenge AI models .


• Build grading criteria that define a correct answer for scientific tasks.


• Calibrate tasks against frontier models, ensuring tasks ship only when strong models fail more often than they succeed.


• Work independently and asynchronously to meet deadlines while improving AI model performance.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• 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 .

Preferred

• Publications in peer‑reviewed journals.


• Prior scientific software or research engineering experience.