Astrophysics Software Designer - 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 Information

Position: STEM Computational Scientific Software & Evaluation Design - Astrophysics & Cosmology
Type: Contract
Compensation: $70–$100/hour
Location: Remote
Commitment: 15–20 hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Design graduate-level computational problems using domain-specific scientific software libraries.
• Evaluate AI systems' ability to solve research-grade problems, from querying simulations to interpreting outputs.
• Develop experimental strategies to recover hidden information from data, emphasizing strategic reasoning.
• Calibrate tasks against state-of-the-art AI models, refining problem designs to achieve target difficulty.
• Work independently and asynchronously to iterate on problem designs based on calibration feedback.
• Utilize astropy and related tools for cosmological calculations and observational data reduction.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM domain (MS, PhD, or equivalent research experience ).
• Demonstrated proficiency with scientific software libraries, evidenced by research publications or professional work.
• Strong Python programming skills for writing problem setups and solution validators.
• Ability to work in a Linux/terminal environment with remote compute sandboxes.
• Available for at least 15–20 hours per week .

Preferred

• Experience across multiple listed domains or tools.
• Familiarity with benchmark or evaluation design.
• Background in scientific pedagogy or exam/problem-set design.
• Experience with computational reproducibility and containerized environments.