Molecular Biology PhD — AI Training Data Strategist

Mercor; New York (NY); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Cincinnatus LLC is seeking a Molecular Biology SME to help build foundational AI models by designing nucleic acid constructs and creating high-quality ground-truth solutions. You will collaborate with research and engineering teams to diagnose where biological reasoning breaks down in models and to craft domain-specific tasks and robust evaluation rubrics.

The role requires an advanced degree with hands-on construct design experience, a strong publication record, and the ability to commit at

Qualifications

• PhD in molecular biology or closely related field required, strong publication record.
• Hands-on experience designing nucleic acid constructs incl primers, plasmids, gRNA, mRNA, HDR templates and associated cloning strategies.
• First-author publications in notable venues preferred; provide links when applying.
• Commitment of at least 20 hours per week on weekdays; AI training/data annotation exposure a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify where a model's molecular biology reasoning breaks down and help close those gaps.
• Design hard, domain-relevant tasks and write accurate, well-documented ground-truth solutions (PCR primers, gRNA, plasmids, vectors, HDR templates).
• Review tasks and model outputs for correctness, rigor, and biological reasoning; give clear feedback.
• Write guidelines and rubrics for sequence design quality including codon optimization and regulatory elements.
• Collaborate with other SMEs to keep training data consistent and high quality.

Skills

Molecular biology

DNA design

RNA constructs

gRNA design

Plasmids

Codon optimization

Publications

Education

PhD in Molecular Biology

Tools

Gibson Assembly

Golden Gate

Gateway cloning

Restriction enzymes

Job description

Cincinnatus LLC is seeking a Molecular Biology SME to help build foundational AI models by designing nucleic acid constructs and creating high-quality ground-truth solutions. You will collaborate with research and engineering teams to diagnose where biological reasoning breaks down in models and to craft domain-specific tasks and robust evaluation rubrics.

The role requires an advanced degree with hands-on construct design experience, a strong publication record, and the ability to commit at