Physics Domain Expert

Mercor; United States; Remote; USD 124,000 - 193,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking senior physicists to help frontier AI models reason about real physics. You will review physics reasoning tasks and model outputs, write problem specifications and reference solutions, and design benchmarks to measure genuine improvement.

This remote role targets candidates with a PhD and a strong research track record in physics. Ideal candidates have hands-on AI fluency, excellent written communication, and the ability to provide precise, structured feedback.

Qualifications

• PhD in physics, astrophysics, applied physics, or closely related field.
• Senior research role at a university, national lab, or research organization.
• Genuine domain depth in at least one area (condensed matter, high-energy/particle physics, astrophysics/cosmology, AMO/quantum, or statistical/computational physics).
• Strong peer‑reviewed publication record; fellowships/awards are a plus.
• Hands-on use of large language models in research work; ability to discern sound arguments from plausible but wrong ones.
• Excellent written communication and the ability to give precise, well-structured feedback.

Responsibilities

• Expert review: assess physics tasks and model outputs, catching flawed derivations and unjustified approximations.
• Write precise problem statements and rigorous reference solutions that reflect research practices.
• Design challenging, research-level benchmarks and evaluation sets in your area of specialization.
• Calibrate: collaborate with researchers to turn tacit expert judgment into explicit, teachable criteria.

Job description

Pay: $90 – $140/hour
Commitment: Hourly
Open to: USA

Help define how frontier AI models reason about physics.

1. Overview

We are looking for senior physicists to improve how frontier AI models reason about real physics research.

Your scientific judgment is the substance of this role. You will review the quality of physics reasoning tasks and model outputs, write the problem specifications and reference solutions that define what \"correct\" looks like, and design benchmarks that show whether a model is genuinely improving. We are looking for a practicing specialist rather than a generalist.

This role is fully remote.

2. Key Responsibilities

• Expert review: Assess physics tasks and model outputs, catching flawed derivations, unjustified approximations, dimensional and limit errors, and answers that read well but would not survive peer review.


• Problem specs and reference solutions: Write precise problem statements and rigorous reference solutions that reflect how research physics is actually done.


• Benchmarks: Design challenging, research-level problems and evaluation sets in your area of specialization.


• Calibration: Work with other researchers and experts in adjacent fields to turn tacit expert judgment into explicit, teachable criteria.

3. Core Qualifications

• Education: PhD in physics, astrophysics, applied physics, or a closely related field.


• Seniority: A faculty appointment, principal investigator, staff or senior scientist, or an equivalent senior research role at a university, national laboratory, or research organization.


• Domain depth: Genuine specialization in at least one area, for example condensed matter, high-energy or particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, atomic, molecular, optical and quantum physics, or statistical and computational physics.


• Research record: A strong peer-reviewed publication record. Recognition such as competitive fellowships or awards is a plus.


• AI fluency: Hands‑on use of large language models in your work, and the judgment to tell a sound argument from a plausible‑sounding wrong one.


• Communication: Excellent written communication and the ability to give precise, well‑structured feedback.


• Location: Based in the United States.