Preclinical R&D Scientist - AI-Driven Drug Discovery

Obsidian; New York (NY); Remote; USD 83,000 - 124,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking a hands-on preclinical R&D expert to guide AI-driven drug discovery efforts. The role blends wet-lab expertise with translational insight to shape how models interpret real-world pharmaceutical data.

Ideal candidates will have 5+ years in industry R&D across discovery biology, chemistry, or related fields and experience advancing programs toward IND-enabling or lead optimization, in mid-size or emerging biotech settings.

Qualifications

• Hands-on preclinical R&D experience in-house with drug assets advancing toward clinic.
• Experience in discovery biology, medicinal chemistry, protein/antibody engineering, computational, pharmacology, toxicology, or CMC/formulation.
• Hands-on experience with one or more drug modalities (small molecules, antibodies, RNA therapies, cell therapies, etc.).
• 5+ years of relevant industry R&D experience (flexible based on depth).
• Experience moving programs through lead optimization or IND-enabling/preclinical development.

Responsibilities

• Review technical materials and real-world R&D data in your area of expertise.
• Label, classify, and annotate scientific data and model outputs to improve model performance.
• Provide expert perspective on target/modality selection, optimization, trade-offs, and risk.
• Help define structure and quality standards for the client’s dataset pipeline.
• Participate in expert discussions, interviews, and research engagements.

Skills

Preclinical R&D

Data labeling

Scientific reasoning

Cross-functional collaboration

Model feedback

Job description

Mercor is seeking a hands-on preclinical R&D expert to guide AI-driven drug discovery efforts. The role blends wet-lab expertise with translational insight to shape how models interpret real-world pharmaceutical data.

Ideal candidates will have 5+ years in industry R&D across discovery biology, chemistry, or related fields and experience advancing programs toward IND-enabling or lead optimization, in mid-size or emerging biotech settings.