Mechanical Engineering Expert
$70–125/hr
Remote part time STEM contract with Mercor, $70–125/hr. Posted Sep 14.
$70–125/hr
Apply on MercorIs this job worth applying to?
- Pay
- Above typicalTops out at $125/hr. The typical top rate across 148 priced STEM listings is $70/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
- Older postPosted 7w ago. Still listed on Mercor on Nov 6, 2026.
- Where you live
- Not statedThe listing names no country.
The job description
The research teams behind the best-known AI models come to Mercor for mechanical engineering judgment they can't generate on their own. Your standards and expertise become the rubric that frontier AI is graded against.
This is a standing listing for mechanical engineers who want AI training and evaluation work, not a specific job opening. It stays open whether or not a matching project is running this week.
New projects start on short notice, so instead of posting and pulling a listing each time, we keep one open per field and draw from it when one begins.
What the work looks like
We match mechanical engineers in the network to projects like:
- Writing a design problem from work you have done, with the loads, the constraints, and the tolerances, plus the reference answer a model's attempt gets graded against
- Grading model-written analysis: whether the free body diagram is right, whether the failure mode considered is the governing one, whether the safety factor is applied to the right quantity
- Flagging where a model's design satisfies the calculation and fails in practice, given manufacturability, assembly, wear, or thermal expansion
Past rates have run $70 to $125 an hour, set per project by scope and depth.
What we're looking for
- A degree in mechanical engineering, with professional design or analysis experience
- Clear written communication, since most of the work involves explaining your reasoning
- Comfort with ambiguous tasks, and willingness to flag unclear instructions
Where you trained matters less than whether you have had a design of yours built, and learned what it did once it was.
How it works
Apply here with your resume and confirm where you work from, then take a short AI interview, about 20 minutes total.
We verify your background and add you to the mechanical engineering pool.
When a project needs mechanical engineering expertise, we invite matching people from the pool to that specific listing. It names the rate, the hours, and the client, and any hiring decision is made there.
What to expect
This listing does not accept or reject candidates, so you will not get a decision on it. We reach out when a project matches your background. Depending on what our clients are running, that can be within a week or several months.
Finishing the domain expert interview and joining every network you qualify for both improve your odds of being matched. You only need to sign up once to be eligible across all of them.
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.
