Optimization Specialist | Upto $80/hr

Mercor; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; GBP 61,335 - 81,780; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI research firm is seeking an Operations Research Professional to craft precise operations research prompts for AI assessments. This remote position requires a master's degree or higher in Operations Research or a related field, along with 2–6 years of relevant experience. Candidates should have a strong command of mathematical programming, probabilistic modeling, and algorithmic methods, coupled with excellent written English skills. Familiarity with Gurobi or CPLEX is preferred.

Qualifications

• 2–6 years of professional experience in optimization, logistics, or decision science.
• Ability to craft precise, well-scoped technical questions.

Responsibilities

• Author clear operations research prompts for evaluable AI responses.
• Verify prompts for scope and difficulty ratings.
• Edit prompts where standards are not met.

Skills

Mathematical programming

Probabilistic modeling

Algorithmic methods

Excellent written English

Education

Master's degree or higher in Operations Research or related field

Tools

Gurobi

CPLEX

Simulation tools

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 Details

• Position: Operations Research Professional
• Type: Contract
• Compensation: $60–$80/hour
• Location: Remote
• Commitment: 10+ hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Author clear, unambiguous, open-ended operations research prompts that elicit evaluable AI responses.
• Verify prompts are within the scope of the assigned subdomain and correctly rated for difficulty.
• Ensure all 5 prompts in a task are sufficiently distinct from one another with varying difficulty levels.
• Apply expert judgment to assess the depth and quality of quantitative reasoning required.
• Edit prompts and difficulty assignments where standards are not met.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• Master's degree or higher in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field.
• 2–6 years of professional or research experience in optimization, logistics, or decision science.
• Strong command of mathematical programming, probabilistic modeling, and algorithmic methods.
• Excellent written English and ability to craft precise, well-scoped technical questions.

Preferred

• Experience with solvers (Gurobi, CPLEX) or simulation tools is a strong plus.