Applied Physics PhD - Assessment Expert

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 Physics Benchmark Specialist

Type: Contract

Compensation: $61–$77/hour

Location: Remote

Commitment: 10+ hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Author original physics questions that test deep conceptual understanding in Semiconductor Physics , Nanoelectronics & Spintronics , Photonics , and other domains.
• Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined with all necessary information in the problem statement.
• Rate each question's difficulty as Medium, Hard, or Expert, providing 1 correct answer and 9 plausible alternatives.
• Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise intermediate steps in markdown format.
• Supply 1–5 academic references per question from reputable sources like peer-reviewed journals.
• For verification tasks, flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made.

Qualifications

• PhD or doctoral candidate in Physics , Applied Physics , Astrophysics , or a closely related field.
• Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain.
• Strong command of graduate-level physics concepts and mathematical formalism.
• Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely.

• Experience with rigorous academic problem design or physics olympiad writing is a strong plus.

Originally posted on Himalayas