[Contract] Material Science PhD Coding Experts

1000scholars; United States; Remote; USD 11,572,000 - 14,878,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Weekly payments via Stripe or Wise

Fully remote

Job summary

Mercor is seeking PhD or Master’s scientists to author AI evaluation tasks for a new benchmark in scientific computing. The role is fully remote and contracted as an independent engagement, with a 6-week horizon and a commitment of 20+ hours per week.

You will source materials, design prompts, and establish grading criteria to test frontier models. Payments are weekly via Stripe or Wise, and candidates who require H1-B or STEM OPT are not accommodated.

Qualifications

• PhD in materials-related field.
• Depth in semiconductor materials and molecular modeling.
• Proficient in Python or R.
• Experience with GitHub and Docker workflows.

Responsibilities

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

Skills

Python

R

Education

PhD in Materials Science / related field

Tools

Git / GitHub

Docker

Job description

Material Science PhD Coding Experts

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).

• Materials science - semiconductor materials
• Molecular modeling

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 materials science, materials engineering, applied physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, or a closely related field
• Demonstrated depth in both of the following subdomains: semiconductor materials and molecular modeling
• 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

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.