Biology PhD - Scientific Coder - AI Trainer

Posted yesterday

obsidianSan Diego (CA)

Bioinformatics Scientists Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology)

SENIORITY

Senior

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About the role

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
RequiredPhD 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
PreferredPublications 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

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

Before you apply

Applying takes about a minute. These four things decide how fast it moves after that.

Your profile is current

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Two examples you can talk through

Not a portfolio — just two pieces of work where you can explain the decisions and what you'd change.

A number in mind

What you're on now and what would make you move. We negotiate better when we know both.

Your notice period

Employers plan around it, and it's the question that stalls offers most often.

Once you apply, someone reads it and calls you before anything reaches the employer — usually within two working days.