Condensed Matter Physicist (PhD) at Mercor

Condensed Matter Physicist (PhD) | $80-110/hr | Remote | Contract, 10 hrs/week

About the work

Contribute to CritPt, a public benchmark of research-level physics challenges testing whether frontier AI models can do genuine physics research reasoning rather than textbook problem solving. The benchmark paper is arXiv:2509.26574, and the company recommends reading it before applying.

Physicists work on research-level problems in their own subfield: creating problems, solving them, reviewing completed work, or auditing it. The specific assignment is agreed with you once you are matched to an area. This is research-grade work, not volume work: whatever you produce must be complete enough for another specialist in your subfield to follow and verify independently, so written reasoning is part of every assignment.

Research areas

The panel covers 19 narrow condensed matter areas, matched precisely to your publication record. Examples include one-dimensional field theory and bosonization; parafermion zero modes and FQH-superconductor heterostructures; rational CFT and non-Abelian quantum Hall edge theories; SPT/Haldane phases and matrix product states; flat-band Hubbard models; the SYK model; correlated electron transport via Kubo formalism; Wigner crystallization; quantum geometry and Z2 topological invariants; the Hatsugai-Kohmoto model; dissipative hydrodynamics and fracton symmetries; quantum Monte Carlo for the 2D electron gas; Dirac materials transport; topological crystalline insulators; the Kitaev honeycomb model; semiclassical thermoelectric transport; inelastic neutron scattering theory; magnetic space groups and magneto-optics; and crystallography of modulated structures.

Matching is narrow: you need to have published on the specific phenomenon, not in condensed matter broadly. Each area lists the methods it requires.

Who we are looking for

• PhD in condensed matter physics or a closely related field (hard requirement). Postdocs, research scientists and junior faculty are the strongest fit; senior PhD students with a strong first-author record are welcome.
• Published work on the specific phenomenon, not an adjacent one. Command of the methods is not enough if you have not published on the phenomenon itself.
• A verifiable publication record: three to five representative papers with arXiv IDs or DOIs, ideally from the last five years, first author preferred. Papers will be checked against the public record.
• Working proficiency with LaTeX, Python, SymPy and Jupyter. Familiarity with an agentic coding extension in VS Code is useful; gaps are acceptable if declared honestly.
• English at B2 or above, including written reasoning.

How to apply

• Apply and complete the attached form: basic information, education, research experience, method self-attestation, and up to five areas you fit best, each with an arXiv ID or DOI of your own paper, your author position and the methods it demonstrates.
• Papers and authorship are verified against the public record.
• You are then either onboarded directly or invited to a short live alignment call to agree the area and assignment. A brief 30-45 minute assessment may be added only where needed; most applicants will not see one.

Commitment and pay

10 hours per week, sustained across an 8 to 10 week window, starting immediately. Remote and asynchronous, no fixed hours. $80 to $110 per hour, set by depth of subdomain match.