Engineering PhD

Confidential; United States; Remote; USD 110,000 - 131,000; Full time

Job summary

Zekai is seeking an Engineering PhD or PhD candidate for a short-term, fully remote pilot project. You will craft engineering problems drawn from real workflows, provide correct solutions with detailed reasoning, and establish objective criteria for correctness so peers can independently verify results.

The role emphasizes hands-on research, practical experience, and clear communication of why an answer is correct. Duration is 2–3 weeks, with an early kickoff target.

Qualifications

• PhD or PhD candidate in electrical, mechanical, chemical, industrial, or aerospace engineering.
• Strong research background and hands-on practice rather than purely theoretical work.
• Ability to explain why an answer is correct clearly for verification by peers.

Responsibilities

• Design technical problems drawn from real engineering work with realistic constraints and supporting data.
• Provide the correct solution and walk through the reasoning that gets there.
• Define objective criteria for correctness so another engineer would reach the same verdict.
• Review problems created by other contributors for technical soundness.
• Flag problems that are ambiguous or ungradable.

Skills

PhD experience

Research experience

Clear reasoning

Communication of results

Education

PhD or PhD candidate

Engineering PhD from strong institution

Job description

Role: Engineering PhD

Opportunity Snapshot

Pay: $80–95/hour

Duration: Short-term pilot — approximately 2–3 weeks

Project kickoff: Ideally end of week(November 8th)

Location: Fully remote

You’ll need: PhD or PhD candidate in electrical, mechanical, chemical, industrial, or aerospace engineering

Your tasks: Build technical problems from real engineering workflows and define what makes an answer correct

This is a short pilot, roughly 2–3 weeks, focused on real engineering workflows: the problems you’d actually encounter in your research or practice, not textbook exercises. You’ll build those problems, provide the correct analysis, and define what separates a right answer from one that only looks right.

What you’ll do

• Design technical problems drawn from real engineering work in your field, with realistic constraints and supporting data.
• Provide the correct solution and walk through the reasoning that gets there.
• Define objective criteria for correctness, so another engineer reviewing the work would reach the same verdict.
• Review problems built by other contributors for technical accuracy and soundness of method.
• Flag problems that turn out to be ambiguous or ungradable rather than submitting them.

What we’re looking for

• PhD, or PhD candidate, in electrical, mechanical, chemical, industrial, or aerospace engineering.
• Degree from a strong research institution is preferred.
• Hands‑on research or practice experience — problems you worked on yourself, not ones you read about.
• Able to explain why an answer is correct clearly enough that another engineer could verify it.
• Publications or a record of technical contribution is a plus.
• AI or LLM evaluation experience is a plus, but not required.

Start Timeline & Availability

We typically fill roles within 48 hours and are looking for experts who are ready to begin immediately. If selected, you will be expected to start your first task within 24–48 hours of completing onboarding.

This is a 100% remote contract role, open to applicants worldwide in the countries the employer accepts.