Biology PhD - Scientific Coder

Mercor is hiring PhD and Master's scientists to author AI evaluation tasks (Sci Code)

Mercor is partnering with leading AI labs on a new benchmark for scientific computing. You will author original, executable research problems that today's frontier models cannot solve.

Domains — depth required in at least two subdomains (with a coding focus)

• Biology — ecology, biochemistry, genetics

What you'll do

• Source your own material: a published paper, a Kaggle dataset, an open-source repository, or a scenario you design
• Write scientific prompts based on the input
• Build the grading criteria that define a correct answer
• Calibrate against frontier models — a task ships only when strong models fail it more often than they succeed

Required

• PhD in biology, biological sciences, biochemistry, genetics, ecology, or a closely related field
• Demonstrated depth in at least two of the following subdomains: ecology, biochemistry, genetics
• Working proficiency in Python, R, or another relevant programming language for scientific computing
• Comfortable with Git/GitHub and running code in Docker — authoring runs through a pull-request workflow with automated quality checks

Preferred

• Publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Prior scientific software or research engineering experience

Engagement

• Duration: 6 weeks
• Commitment: part-time, 20+ hours per week
• Start date: immediate

Process

1. A 25-minute conversational interview covering your background, experience, and motivations
2. Follow up within a few days with next steps and onboarding

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