Genetics Expert - Fully Remote | Upto $105/Hr

Mercor; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; GBP 72,000 - 108,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking Molecular Biology Experts for a remote contract role, offering $70–$105/hour and 20–40 hours per week. The position focuses on guiding teams to close knowledge gaps and improve AI model performance in nucleic-acid design, plasmids, and HDR/repair templates.

The ideal candidate will hold a PhD in molecular biology or a related life-science field, with a strong publication record and demonstrated career progression. Availability of 20 hours per week during weekdays is required.

Qualifications

• Must have PhD in a life-science field (molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, synthetic biology, bioengineering).
• Strong peer-reviewed publication record, especially first-author work in notable venues.
• Ability to engage reliably for at least 20 hours/week onWeekdays.
• Demonstrated career progression and clear communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Guide research and engineering teams to close knowledge gaps and improve AI model performance in molecular biology and sequence design.
• Design tasks and write accurate solutions for primers, plasmids, gRNA/sgRNA, mRNA constructs, and HDR/repair templates.
• Evaluate molecular-biology tasks and AI outputs against expert-quality solutions; provide clear technical feedback.
• Develop rubrics and evaluation frameworks for sequence-design quality, guide selection, and codon optimization.
• Collaborate with subject matter experts to ensure training data accuracy.

Skills

Strong written communication

Hands-on nucleic-acid constructs

Availability 20 h/week

Education

PhD in molecular biology or related field

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: Molecular Biology Experts
Type: Contract
Compensation: $70–$105/hour
Location: Remote
Commitment: 20–40 hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Guide research and engineering teams to close knowledge gaps and improve AI model performance in molecular biology, nucleic-acid sequence design, and construct engineering.
• Design challenging, domain-relevant tasks and write accurate, well-documented solutions for primers, plasmids, gRNA/sgRNA, mRNA constructs, and HDR/repair templates.
• Evaluate molecular-biology tasks and AI model outputs against expert-quality solutions. Provide clear, written technical feedback on correctness, rigor, and biological reasoning.
• Develop guidelines and detailed rubrics/evaluation frameworks to assess sequence-design quality, including guide/target selection and codon optimization.
• Collaborate with other subject matter experts to ensure consistency and accuracy in training data.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• PhD strongly preferred in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, synthetic biology, bioengineering, or a related life-science field.
• Hands-on experience designing nucleic-acid constructs, including primers, plasmids/vectors, gRNA/sgRNA, mRNA, and HDR/repair templates.
• Strong peer-reviewed publication record, especially first-author work in notable venues.
• Demonstrable career progression.
• Ability to engage reliably for at least 20 hours/week during weekdays.
• Strong written communication skills.

Preferred

• Past experience in AI training, model evaluation, and data annotation.