Molecular Biology PhD - DNA Design

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

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

Join a leading AI lab's cutting-edge GenAI team and help build foundational AI models from the ground up. We're looking for Molecular Biology subject-matter experts (SMEs) who have designed DNA and RNA sequences themselves, including primers, plasmids, guide RNAs, mRNA constructs and repair templates, and who can bring that depth to the quality of our AI training data.

This is a W-2 employment position with Cincinnatus LLC, with the opportunity to be placed at a leading AI Lab as part of their extended workforce.

2. Key Responsibilities

• Work with research and engineering teams to find where a model's molecular biology reasoning breaks down, and help close those gaps.
• Design hard, domain-relevant tasks and write the accurate, well documented solutions that become ground truth. That spans primers for PCR, qPCR and cloning, plasmids and expression vectors, gRNA and sgRNA for CRISPR editing, mRNA and RNA constructs, and HDR or repair templates.
• Review molecular biology tasks and model outputs against expert-quality solutions, and give clear written feedback on correctness, rigor and biological reasoning.
• Write the guidelines and rubrics used to judge sequence design quality, covering guide and target selection, homology arm length, primer melting temperature and specificity, codon optimization, and regulatory elements.
• Work alongside other subject matter experts so the training data stays consistent and accurate.

3. Core Qualifications

• An advanced degree, PhD strongly preferred, in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, synthetic biology, bioengineering or a related life science field.
• Hands-on experience designing nucleic acid constructs before the experiment runs, across several of primers, plasmids and vectors, gRNA and sgRNA, mRNA, and HDR or repair templates, together with the cloning strategy behind them (Gibson, Golden Gate, Gateway, restriction) and codon optimization.
• A strong peer-reviewed publication record, weighted toward first-author work in notable venues such as Nature and the Nature family, Cell, eLife, Nucleic Acids Research, PNAS and EMBO Journal. Please include links to your publications when you apply.
• Clear career progression.
• You can commit reliably to at least 20 hours a week on weekdays.
• Previous work in AI training, model evaluation or data annotation is a plus.
• Strong written communication, and the ability to explain the reasoning behind a design choice clearly and precisely.

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.

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.