About The Job Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, our investors include Benchmark , General Catalyst , Peter Thiel , Adam D'Angelo , Larry Summers , and Jack Dorsey .

Position: PhD-Level Life Scientist

Type: Contract Compensation: $80–$125/hour Location: Remote Commitment: High touch and high excellence required Role Responsibilities

• Create challenges related to molecular biology, genomics, transcriptomics, epigenetics, and proteomics with scientific accuracy and depth.
• Design experimental challenges, evaluating controls, confounders, reproducibility, and data interpretation.
• Develop high-quality training data, including research-level questions, answers, and evaluation rubrics across domains.
• Provide structured feedback on challenges covering wet-lab protocols, computational analysis pipelines, and study design.
• Apply quantitative and bioinformatics reasoning to calibrate model performance on complex, multi-step biological problems.

Qualifications Must-Have

• PhD (or MD/PhD) in a life-science field such as molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, bioengineering, or systems biology.
• Currently or recently active in academia - e.g., faculty, staff scientist, research scientist, or postdoc with an active institutional affiliation and ongoing research.
• Hands-on wet-lab experience - must have designed and executed experiments (not purely computational).
• Strong experimental design and scientific reasoning - demonstrated expertise with controls, confounders, reproducibility, and interpretation.
• Bio-focused domain expertise in at least one of the following: Genomics, Transcriptomics, Epigenetics, Proteomics / protein assays / protein biochemistry.
• Evidence of research impact - published peer-reviewed work or influential preprints/tools/datasets with clear contributions (e.g., first/second author papers, senior-author leadership, or widely used methods and resources).

Preferred

• Computational and quantitative skills - experience in computational biology, bioinformatics, statistical genetics, and/or machine learning for omics (analysis, interpretation, and study design support).
• Breadth across molecular modalities: DNA / RNA / protein biology; gene expression and translation.
• Protein assays (e.g., Western blot, ELISA, mass spectrometry-based proteomics).
• Small molecules / chemical biology exposure.

Application Process (Takes 20–30 mins to complete)

• Upload resume
• AI interview based on your resume
• Submit form

Resources & Support

• For details about the interview process and platform information, please check: https://talent.docs.mercor.com/welcome/welcome
• For any help or support, reach out to: support@mercor.com

PS: Our team reviews applications daily. Please complete your AI interview and application steps to be considered for this opportunity. ,