Propulsion & Effects Engineer — Remote Contract

mercor; United States; Remote; USD 90,000 - 103,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking a Propulsion & Effects Engineer on a contract basis, fully remote from the United States. The role involves crafting single-turn prompts for propulsion and energetic materials, and evaluating AI model responses against policy standards.

Collaboration with experts will refine model behavior in dual-use scenarios and enhance technical reasoning in reference answers. The candidate will work independently to advance AI handling of propulsion-related queries and contribute to

Qualifications

• Must have experience in munitions or warhead design and effects engineering.
• Background in propulsion system design, test, and qualification.
• Expertise in terminal effects modelling such as blast, fragmentation, and penetration.
• Knowledge of fuzing, safe-and-arm, and initiation system engineering.
• Experience in test range engineering and instrumentation for propulsion or ordnance.

Responsibilities

• Write prompts related to propulsion and energetic materials and classify as benign, dual-use, or adversarial.
• Evaluate AI model responses against policy standards and judge correctness.
• Draft reference answers with technical reasoning for correct responses.
• Collaborate with experts to ensure models distinguish between routine and dangerous queries.
• Work independently to improve AI model performance in handling dual-use scenarios.

Skills

Munition design

Propulsion systems

Terminal effects modelling

Fuzing & safe-arm

Test range instrumentation

Job description

Mercor is seeking a Propulsion & Effects Engineer on a contract basis, fully remote from the United States. The role involves crafting single-turn prompts for propulsion and energetic materials, and evaluating AI model responses against policy standards.

Collaboration with experts will refine model behavior in dual-use scenarios and enhance technical reasoning in reference answers. The candidate will work independently to advance AI handling of propulsion-related queries and contribute to