Physics Content Specialist - Fully Remote | Upto $77/hr

mercor; United States; Remote; USD 84,000 - 106,000; Full time

Job summary

Mercor, a San Francisco-based firm connecting elite researchers with AI labs, seeks an Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist for a remote contract role. You will design rigorous physics questions, assess difficulty, and provide solutions with references.

Candidates should have a PhD in Physics (Master's considered with depth), excellent written English, and the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly. Commitment: 10+ hours/week, remote.

Qualifications

• PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, Astrophysics, or closely related field.
• Master's degree considered for exceptional depth in a subdomain.

Responsibilities

• Author original physics questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall.
• Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined with all necessary information in the problem statement.
• Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above).
• Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers.
• Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise intermediate steps in markdown format.
• Supply 1-5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories).
• For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made.

Skills

Graduate-level physics concepts

Mathematical formalism

Excellent written English

Education

PhD in Physics

Master's degree considered for exceptional depth

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: Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist Type: Contract Compensation: $61-$77/hour Location: Remote Commitment: 10+ hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Author original physics questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall.
• Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined with all necessary information in the problem statement.
• Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above).
• Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers.
• Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise intermediate steps in markdown format.
• Supply 1-5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories).
• For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• PhD or doctoral candidate in Physics , Applied Physics , Astrophysics , or a closely related field.
• Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain.
• Strong command of graduate-level physics concepts and mathematical formalism.
• Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely.

Preferred

• Experience with rigorous academic problem design or physics olympiad writing is a strong plus.