Buy-Side Biotech Trading Expert at Mercor

Buy-Side Biotech Trading Expert | $250–300/hr | Remote Contractor

Mercor is hiring on behalf of a frontier AI research lab building systems for high-stakes reasoning and decision-making. We're seeking candidates with buy-side biotech investing experience who combine deep scientific training with hands-on exposure to catalyst-driven biotech trading.

The ideal candidate is an MD or PhD who began their career in a biotech or pharmaceutical company and later transitioned into buy-side investing, where they evaluated and traded around clinical trial readouts and regulatory events. This role involves translating real-world investment judgment into structured, high-quality reasoning to support the development and evaluation of advanced AI systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze biotech investment opportunities from a buy-side perspective
• Develop probability-weighted theses around clinical and regulatory catalysts, including Phase I–III clinical trial readouts, FDA events (PDUFAs, advisory committees, CRLs), label expansions, and competitive disclosures
• Evaluate trial design, endpoints, statistical power, and failure modes
• Translate complex clinical and regulatory data into clear, decision-ready reasoning
• Review and critique investment theses with attention to risk, uncertainty, and market impact
• Participate in post-catalyst analyses to refine frameworks and surface signal
• Collaborate with AI researchers to help benchmark and improve model performance in biotech investing tasks

Required Qualifications

• MD or PhD in medicine, life sciences, or a related field
• Prior professional experience at a biotech or pharmaceutical company
• Direct buy-side biotech experience at a hedge fund, family office, proprietary trading firm, or specialist biotech fund
• Familiarity with catalyst-driven biotech trading, including forming views around clinical readouts and FDA decisions
• Strong understanding of drug development, clinical trial processes, FDA regulatory pathways, and market reactions to biotech events
• Ability to express conviction and uncertainty in probabilistic terms
• Strong written communication skills

Preferred Experience

• Track record trading or investing around biotech catalysts
• Ability to discuss specific historical catalyst trades or investments
• Experience with event-driven or long/short biotech strategies
• Deep expertise in one or more therapeutic areas (oncology, CNS, immunology, rare disease)
• Exposure to risk sizing or position management
• Interest in applying domain expertise to AI systems

Work Arrangement

• Hourly contractor role with Mercor
• 20–30 hours per week
• Flexible, fully remote work arrangement
• Collaboration with a highly technical AI research team

Why Join

• Apply buy-side biotech investing expertise to frontier AI development
• Work on complex, real-world decision problems
• Flexible schedule and remote work
• High-impact collaboration with researchers building next-generation AI systems