AI Research Scientist - PhD

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: Applied Computer Science Benchmark Specialist Type: Contract Compensation: $66–$84/hour Location: Remote Commitment: 10+ hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Author original computer science questions to test deep conceptual understanding. Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined.
• Rate each question's difficulty as Medium, Hard, or Expert. Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives.
• Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions in markdown format. Supply 1–5 academic references per question from reputable sources.
• For verification tasks, review pre-written questions for accuracy and clarity. Flag issues and justify any edits made.
• Work independently and asynchronously to meet deadlines while advancing AI capabilities.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• PhD or doctoral candidate in Computer Science , Electrical Engineering , or a closely related field.
• Strong command of graduate-level CS theory , algorithms , systems design , and/or machine learning .
• Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely.

Preferred

• Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain.
• Research publications, industry experience at top tech companies, or competitive programming background.