STEM Computational Scientific Software & Evaluation Design Part-time NEW

STEM Computational Scientific Software & Evaluation Design

We're building a large-scale evaluation benchmark for advanced AI reasoning across scientific and engineering domains. Our task designers create challenging computational problems that test whether AI systems can use real scientific software tools to solve research-grade problems from querying simulations and interpreting outputs to designing experimental strategies and recovering hidden information from data.

This is not a typical annotation or labeling role. You'll be designing original, graduate-level computational problems grounded in real scientific workflows, calibrating them against frontier AI models, and iterating on problem design until the difficulty is right.

You'll design problems that require sophisticated use of domain-specific scientific software libraries. Some problems will require computing precise outputs from fully specified setups — testing whether a solver can correctly implement complex multi-step scientific workflows. Others will require something harder: designing a sequence of queries or experiments to uncover information that isn't directly visible, demanding strategic reasoning about what to measure, how to interpret partial observations, and how to narrow down possibilities efficiently.

Each task goes through a calibration loop where it's tested against state-of-the-art AI models, and you'll refine the problem design until the difficulty hits the target range.

We're especially interested in experts with deep, hands-on experience in the following areas:

• Bioinformatics & Single-Cell Genomics
• Computational Chemistry & Electronic Structure
• Particle & Nuclear Physics
• Electrical Engineering & RF/Circuit Design
• Astrophysics & Cosmology
• Structural & Mechanical Engineering
• Seismology & Geophysics
• Pharmacokinetics & Systems Biology

Graduate-level expertise (MS or PhD preferred) in one or more of the domains listed above, with real hands-on experience using the specific software tools, not just theoretical knowledge of the field. You've written code that calls these libraries to solve actual research problems, and you understand where they break, what their edge cases are, and what makes a problem genuinely hard versus superficially complex.

Beyond domain expertise, the strongest candidates will be able to think like a puzzle designer: constructing problems where the difficulty comes from reasoning strategy rather than brute computation, where there are multiple plausible approaches but only careful analysis reveals the right one, and where surface-level pattern matching won't get you to the answer.

Contract and Payment Terms

• You will be engaged as an independent contractor.
• This is a fully remote role that can be completed on your own schedule.
• Projects can be extended, shortened, or concluded early depending on needs and performance.
• Your work at Mercor will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer, client, or institution.
• Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise based on services rendered.
• Please note: We are unable to support H1-B or STEM OPT candidates at this time.

About Mercor

Mercor partners with leading AI labs and enterprises to train frontier models using human expertise. You will work on projects that focus on training and enhancing AI systems. You will be paid competitively, collaborate with leading researchers, and help shape the next generation of AI systems in your area of expertise.

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