Molecular Biology Specialist - Fully Remote | Upto $105/hr

mercor; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; GBP 73,000 - 109,000; Full time

Job summary

Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. This remote contract role seeks a Molecular Biology Expert to collaborate with research and engineering teams, designing nucleic acid constructs and evaluation rubrics for AI model training.

The ideal candidate holds a PhD in molecular biology or a related field, has hands-on construct design experience, and a proven first-author publication record in top-tier journals. Expect ~20 hours/week in a remote setting.

Qualifications

• PhD strongly preferred in molecular biology or related life science field.
• Hands-on experience designing nucleic acid constructs (primers, plasmids, gRNA/sgRNA, mRNA) with cloning strategies.
• First-author publications in notable journals (Nature, Cell, eLife, NAR, PNAS, EMBO Journal).
• Ability to commit to at least 20 hours/week on weekdays.
• Strong written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with research and engineering teams to identify gaps in molecular biology reasoning within AI models.
• Design complex, domain-specific tasks and develop accurate solutions, including primers for PCR, qPCR, cloning, plasmids, expression vectors, gRNA, sgRNA for CRISPR editing, mRNA, RNA constructs, and repair templates.
• Review molecular biology tasks and model outputs against expert-quality solutions, providing clear feedback on correctness and biological reasoning.
• Develop guidelines and rubrics for evaluating sequence design quality, focusing on guide/target selection, homology arm length, primer melting temperature, and codon optimization.
• Collaborate with other subject matter experts to ensure consistency and accuracy in training data.

Skills

Molecular biology experience

Nucleic acid construct design

Primer design

GRNA/sgRNA design

Written communication

Education

PhD in molecular biology or related field

Tools

Gibson cloning

Golden Gate cloning

Gateway cloning

Restriction enzyme techniques

Job description

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

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with research and engineering teams to identify and address gaps in molecular biology reasoning within AI models.
• Design complex, domain-specific tasks and develop accurate solutions, including primers for PCR , qPCR , cloning, plasmids, expression vectors, gRNA , sgRNA for CRISPR editing, mRNA , RNA constructs, and repair templates.
• Review molecular biology tasks and model outputs against expert-quality solutions, providing clear feedback on correctness, rigor, and biological reasoning.
• Develop guidelines and rubrics for evaluating sequence design quality, focusing on guide and target selection, homology arm length, primer melting temperature, specificity, codon optimization, and regulatory elements.
• Collaborate with other subject matter experts to ensure consistency and accuracy in training data.

Qualifications

• PhD strongly preferred in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, synthetic biology, bioengineering, or related life science field.
• Hands-on experience designing nucleic acid constructs, including primers, plasmids, vectors, gRNA , sgRNA , mRNA , and HDR or repair templates, with knowledge of cloning strategies like Gibson , Golden Gate , Gateway , and restriction.
• Strong peer-reviewed publication record, especially first-author work in notable venues such as Nature , Cell , eLife , Nucleic Acids Research , PNAS , and EMBO Journal.
• Ability to commit to at least 20 hours/week on weekdays.
• Strong written communication skills with the ability to clearly explain design choices.

Preferred

• Previous work in AI training, model evaluation, or data annotation.