Materials Science Expert at Mercor

Materials Science Expert | $55–75/hr | Worldwide Remote

Mercor is seeking experienced materials science professionals to contribute to Project Atlas — a cutting-edge initiative in partnership with leading AI labs to build realistic enterprise environments used to train and evaluate frontier AI agents. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of AI by bringing your real-world expertise to life in a structured, high-fidelity digital workspace.

About the Role

You'll recreate the digital workspaces and workflows you use every day — drawing from your experience at Fortune 500 R&D organizations, national labs, or top R1 universities — and design challenging, multi-step tasks that push state-of-the-art AI systems to their limits.

Key Responsibilities

• Build a realistic digital workspace reflecting your day-to-day materials science environment, including experimental write-ups, characterization reports, simulation results, IP disclosures, and project proposals
• Design multi-step, workflow-grounded tasks that require navigating multiple applications, files, and stakeholders to meaningfully challenge frontier AI agents
• Collaborate asynchronously with other materials science experts to review task scenarios for realism, rigor, and scope
• Work with research teams to refine task designs and evaluation criteria for AI agent benchmarks
• Directly contribute to how leading AI labs train and evaluate next-generation AI systems

Ideal Qualifications

• MS or PhD in materials science, chemistry, physics, or a related discipline
• 3+ years of full-time experience at a Fortune 500 R&D organization, national lab, or R1 university research group
• Expertise in one or more areas: metals, polymers, ceramics, composites, or semiconductor materials; characterization techniques (XRD, SEM/TEM, spectroscopy, thermal analysis); computational materials science, DFT, or MD simulations; process development and scale-up; or reliability and failure analysis
• Hands-on experience with tools such as VASP, Materials Studio (Biovia), LabVantage/LabWare LIMS, ANSYS Fluent, or STAR-CCM+
• Strong analytical and written communication skills with the ability to translate complex workflows into structured task specifications

Compensation

This role begins at an effective hourly rate of $55–$75/hr, with a planned transition to a throughput-based compensation model rewarding quality and volume of work produced.

About Mercor

Mercor is a talent marketplace connecting top domain experts with leading AI labs and research organizations. Backed by Benchmark, General Catalyst, Adam D'Angelo, and Jack Dorsey, Mercor supports thousands of professionals contributing to projects that define the next generation of AI.