[Contract] Applied Chemistry Benchmark Specialist

Role Overview: We are seeking expert chemists to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core chemistry domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities. You will be assigned one of two task types: Question Authoring - Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of chemistry expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review Question Verification - Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made Chemistry Domains Covered Materials Polymer & Electronic Chemistry Industrial & Process Chemistry Energy Storage & Environmental Chemistry Pharmaceutical & Agrochemical Chemistry Consumer, Food & Specialty Chemicals.

Key Responsibilities: Author original chemistry questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined - all necessary information must be in the problem statement Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above) Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers 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 (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories) For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made Ideal Qualifications PhD or doctoral candidate in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain Strong command of graduate-level chemistry concepts, reaction mechanisms, and quantitative analysis Experience with rigorous academic problem design or chemistry olympiad writing is a strong plus Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely More About the Opportunity Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week Asynchronous, fully remote work We consider all qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics and provide reasonable accommodations upon request. Contract and Payment Terms You will be engaged as an independent contractor This is a fully remote role that can be completed on your own schedule Projects can be extended, shortened, or concluded early depending on needs and performance Your work at Mercor will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer, client, or institution Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise based on services rendered

Please note: We are unable to support H1-B or STEM OPT candidates at this time