Quantum Chemistry PhD - Coding Expert - AI Trainer

Obsidian; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 83,000 - 124,000; Part time

Job summary

Mercor is hiring PhD and Master's scientists to author AI evaluation tasks for Sci Code, partnering with leading AI labs on a new benchmark for scientific computing. You will author original, executable research problems that today's frontier models cannot solve.

You will source materials, write prompts, and build grading criteria, calibrating against frontier models to ensure robust evaluation of model performance.

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, computational chemistry, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated depth in quantum chemistry and computational chemistry.
• Proficiency in Python, R, or another relevant programming language for scientific computing.
• Comfortable with Git/GitHub and running code in Docker as part of pull-request workflows.

Responsibilities

• Source your own material: papers, datasets, open-source repositories, or designed scenarios.
• Write scientific prompts based on the input.
• Build grading criteria that define a correct answer.
• Calibrate against frontier models to ensure tasks fail more often than they succeed.

Skills

Python

R

Git/GitHub

Education

PhD in chemistry/related field

Tools

Docker

GitHub

Job description

Mercor is hiring PhD and Master's scientists to author AI evaluation tasks (Sci Code)

Mercor is partnering with leading AI labs on a new benchmark for scientific computing. You will author original, executable research problems that today's frontier models cannot solve.

Domains — depth required in at least two subdomains (with a coding focus)

• Chemistry — quantum chemistry, computational chemistry

What you'll do

• Source your own material: a published paper, a Kaggle dataset, an open-source repository, or a scenario you design
• Write scientific prompts based on the input
• Build the grading criteria that define a correct answer
• Calibrate against frontier models — a task ships only when strong models fail it more often than they succeed

Required

• PhD in chemistry, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, computational chemistry, or a closely related field
• Demonstrated depth in both of the following subdomains: quantum chemistry and computational chemistry
• Working proficiency in Python, R, or another relevant programming language for scientific computing
• Comfortable with Git/GitHub and running code in Docker — authoring runs through a pull-request workflow with automated quality checks

Preferred

• Publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Prior scientific software or research engineering experience

Engagement

• Duration: 6 weeks
• Commitment: part-time, 20+ hours per week
• Start date: immediate

Process

1. Upload your resume and application form
2. A 25-minute conversational interview covering your background, experience, and motivations
3. Follow up within a few days with next steps and onboarding