Is this job worth applying to?

Pay

Above typicalTops out at $140/hr. The typical top rate across 106 priced science listings is $90/hr.

Getting in

Some screening~30 min: resume upload + 20-min AI interview. Resume showing real experience in your field.

Steady work

Work is patchyProjects can pause or end with little notice.

Payout record

Pays on timeSchedule: weekly, every Wednesday. Paid via Stripe (Wise in a few countries).

Freshness

RecentPosted 8d ago. Still listed on Mercor on Nov 6, 2026.

Where you live

Named countries onlyOpen in United States.

The job description

Help define how frontier AI models reason about physics.

1\. Overview

We are looking for senior physicists to improve how frontier AI models reason about real physics research.

Your scientific judgment is the substance of this role. You will review the quality of physics reasoning tasks and model outputs, write the problem specifications and reference solutions that define what "correct" looks like, and design benchmarks that show whether a model is genuinely improving. We are looking for a practicing specialist rather than a generalist.

This role is fully remote.

2\. Key Responsibilities

Expert review: Assess physics tasks and model outputs, catching flawed derivations, unjustified approximations, dimensional and limit errors, and answers that read well but would not survive peer review.
Problem specs and reference solutions: Write precise problem statements and rigorous reference solutions that reflect how research physics is actually done.
Benchmarks: Design challenging, research-level problems and evaluation sets in your area of specialization.
Calibration: Work with other researchers and experts in adjacent fields to turn tacit expert judgment into explicit, teachable criteria.

3\. Core Qualifications

Education: PhD in physics, astrophysics, applied physics, or a closely related field.
Seniority: A faculty appointment, principal investigator, staff or senior scientist, or an equivalent senior research role at a university, national laboratory, or research organization.
Domain depth: Genuine specialization in at least one area, for example condensed matter, high-energy or particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, atomic, molecular, optical and quantum physics, or statistical and computational physics.
Research record: A strong peer-reviewed publication record. Recognition such as competitive fellowships or awards is a plus.
AI fluency: Hands-on use of large language models in your work, and the judgment to tell a sound argument from a plausible-sounding wrong one.
Communication: Excellent written communication and the ability to give precise, well-structured feedback.
Location: Based in the United States.

How do you apply to Mercor?

Apply on Mercor

The Apply button opens this post on Mercor's own site. You apply with them, not with Rubric. Budget about 30 min: resume upload + 20-min AI interview.

Get through screening

What Mercor asks for after you apply:

Take the recorded AI video interview (practice round available)
Complete any role-specific assessment and the ID check
Accept the offer and sign the contract

Start work and get paid

Pay schedule: weekly, every Wednesday. Paid via Stripe (Wise in a few countries). You're paid for the work they hand out, not a fixed salary.

Mercor also needs

Resume showing real experience in your field
Webcam with your full face visible for the AI interview
Government ID

Red flags

Red flagLong waits with no offer after passing the interview
Red flagProjects ending abruptly with little warning

What is Mercor like to work for?

Hiring marketplace that screens professionals with an AI video interview and places them on hourly contracts training and evaluating models for AI labs.

Advertised pay	$20–200/hr
Getting in	Some screening
Application takes	~30 min: resume upload + 20-min AI interview
How you get paid	Weekly, every Wednesday, via Stripe (Wise in a few countries)
Payout record	Pays on time
Countries	Hires in many countries and runs its pay week on India Standard Time; Mercor keeps a list of locations it cannot onboard, and some projects are US-only.

Most listings sit around $50–100/hr; healthcare, legal and finance roles pay the most, language and generalist roles the least.