Materials Science PhD - AI Specialist

About the job

Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, our investors include Benchmark, General Catalyst, Peter Thiel, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, and Jack Dorsey.

Position: Materials Science Domain Expert
Type: Contract
Compensation: $70–$110/hour
Location: Hybrid, Bay Area, California
Commitment: 40 hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Evaluate the quality of materials science knowledge work tasks and model outputs. Identify missing behaviors and unsupported claims.
• Write high-quality instruction specs and produce golden solutions to materials problems. Define new tasks that reflect real-world practices.
• Design challenging materials science tasks and evaluation sets. Build materials-specific skills and tools with the research team.
• Collaborate with client researchers to maintain consistent standards. Translate tacit materials judgment into explicit criteria.
• Work independently and asynchronously to meet deadlines while improving AI model performance.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• PhD in materials science, materials engineering, or related fields.
• 4+ years of research or industrial R&D experience in materials.
• Specialization in areas like energy storage, semiconductors, or computational materials.
• Progression to a senior level, such as Senior Scientist or Principal Investigator.
• Peer-reviewed publications, patents, or shipped materials programs.
• Experience with large language models in professional work.
• Living in the Bay Area, California, and able to work on-site as required.
• Excellent written communication skills.

Application Process (Takes 20–30 mins to complete)

• Upload resume
• AI interview based on your resume
• Submit form

Resources & Support

• For details about the interview process and platform information, please check: https://talent.docs.mercor.com/welcome
• For any help or support, reach out to: support@mercor.com

PS: Our team reviews applications daily. Please complete your AI interview and application steps to be considered for this opportunity.