Materials Science Domain Expert

Mercor; United States; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Cincinnatus LLC is seeking a senior materials science domain expert to join a leading AI lab's GenAI team in the Bay Area. You will review materials knowledge work tasks, write instruction specs and golden solutions, and help build materials-specific benchmarks and evaluation sets.

Role requires 40 hours/week for an initial 6-month engagement, with on-site collaboration several days per week. PhD preferred; extensive R&D experience essential.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent with strong research background in materials science.
• Proven ability to design and critique materials knowledge tasks and benchmarks.
• Experience applying AI/ML in materials science contexts helpful.

Responsibilities

• Review quality of materials knowledge work tasks and model outputs.
• Write instruction specs and golden solutions for materials problems.
• Design benchmarks and domain-specific evaluation sets.
• Calibrate standards with client researchers to ensure consistent criteria.

Skills

Materials science domain expert

AI fluency

Written communication

Education

PhD in materials science or related

Job description

Join a leading AI lab's cutting-edge GenAI team to be at the core of the AI revolution, where your expertise fuels the development of the most advanced AI models.

1. Overview

We are hiring a senior materials science domain expert to work directly with a leading AI lab's research and program management teams, improving how frontier AI models reason about real materials science and materials engineering work.

Your materials expertise is the substance of this role. You will review the quality of materials knowledge work tasks, write the instruction specs and golden solutions that define what "correct" looks like, and build the benchmarks that show whether the model is genuinely improving. We are looking for a practicing specialist rather than a generalist.

This is a full-time W-2 employment position with Cincinnatus LLC, with the opportunity to be placed at a leading AI lab as part of their extended workforce. You will be provisioned with client-issued accounts and equipment, and will work inside the client's own tools alongside their research teams.

Location: This is a hybrid role based in the Bay Area, California. You must live in the Bay Area and work on-site with the client's team multiple days each week, when required. This is not a remote role. If you do not currently live in the Bay Area, you must be willing to relocate there at your own cost before the engagement starts. Relocation assistance is not provided.

2. Key Responsibilities

• Data QA and reviews: Vet the quality of materials science knowledge work tasks and model outputs, spotting missing behaviors, thin reasoning, unsupported structure to property claims, and answers that read well but would not survive technical scrutiny.
• Instruction specs and golden datasets: Write high-quality instruction specs, produce golden solutions to materials problems, and define new materials tasks that reflect how the work is actually done in practice.
• Benchmarks and domain depth: Design challenging materials science tasks and evaluation sets, and help build materials-specific skills and tools together with the research team.
• Calibration: Work with client researchers and specialists in adjacent fields to keep standards consistent, translating tacit materials judgment into explicit, teachable criteria.

3. Core Qualifications

• Education: PhD in materials science, materials engineering, or a closely related discipline such as chemistry, chemical engineering, applied physics, or metallurgy. A master's degree with exceptional industrial depth may be considered.
• Experience: 4+ years of substantive research or industrial R&D experience in materials, at a research university, a national laboratory, or an industrial research organization. Graduate coursework alone does not count.
• Domain depth: Genuine specialization in at least one area, for example energy storage and battery materials, semiconductors and electronic materials, polymers and soft matter, structural alloys and metallurgy, characterization and microscopy, or computational materials and simulation.
• Seniority: Clear progression to a senior level, for example Senior Scientist, Staff Scientist, Research Lead, Principal Investigator, or a senior industrial R&D role, with real ownership of research direction.
• Research record: Peer-reviewed publications, granted patents, or shipped materials programs. Strongly preferred.
• AI fluency: Hands-on working use of large language models in your professional work, and the judgment to tell a well-reasoned answer from a plausible-sounding wrong one.
• Availability: Able to commit reliably to 40 hours per week for an initial engagement of 6 months.
• Location: Living in the Bay Area, California, and able to work on-site with the client's team multiple days each week, when required. Candidates not currently based in the Bay Area must be willing to relocate there at their own cost. Relocation assistance is not provided.
• Excellent written communication, and the ability to give precise, well-structured written feedback.

About Cincinnatus LLC

Cincinnatus LLC is an enterprise staffing company that partners with leading technology companies to source and employ highly skilled professionals for contingent and contract-based opportunities. Cincinnatus serves as the employer of record for these engagements, providing W-2 employment, payroll, benefits, and compliance, while placing employees directly within client teams to work on high-impact initiatives.

Roles hired through Cincinnatus are not project-based or freelance engagements. They are structured, role-based positions that typically involve part-time or full-time commitments, close collaboration with a client's internal teams, and integration into standard enterprise workflows.

Cincinnati is a legal entity separate from Mercor. While opportunities may be discovered through Mercor's platform, employment, onboarding, payroll, and benefits for these roles are administered by Cincinnatus LLC.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Cincinnatus is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Cincinnatus is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans throughout the job application process.