Computational Mechanics Expert - 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: Computational Structural & Mechanical Engineering Expert

Type: Contract

Compensation: $70–$85/hour

Location: Remote

Commitment: 15–20 hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Design challenging computational problems to test AI capabilities in solving scientific and engineering tasks.
• Develop problems requiring skilled use of open-source, domain-specific computational tools like FEniCSx/DOLFINx , OpenFOAM , deal.II , and others.
• Evaluate AI models by testing them against state-of-the-art benchmarks and refine problems to achieve the desired difficulty.
• Collaborate with AI research teams to improve problem designs and ensure they test strategic reasoning and problem-solving.
• Work independently and asynchronously to meet deadlines and refine problem designs based on feedback.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM field ( MS, PhD, or equivalent research experience ).
• Proven proficiency with at least one of the listed scientific software libraries through research publications, open-source contributions, or professional work.
• Strong Python skills for writing problem setups, oracle functions, and solution validators.
• Ability to work independently and refine problem designs based on feedback.
• Comfortable working in a Linux/terminal environment with remote compute sandboxes.

Preferred

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