History PhD - Benchmark Specialist
mercorNew York (NY)
About the role
Role Overview:
We are seeking experts in history and political science to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core history and political science domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities. You will be assigned one of two task types: Question Authoring — Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review. Question Verification — Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made. History & Political Science Domains Covered National Security, Public Policy, Business History, Environmental History, Latin American History.
Key Responsibilities:
Author original history and political science questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined — all necessary information must be in the problem statement Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above) Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise reasoning in markdown format Supply 1–5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories) For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made Ideal Qualifications PhD or doctoral candidate in History, Political Science, International Relations, or a closely related field Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain Strong command of historiographical methods, political theory, and comparative analysis Research publications or policy experience is a strong plus Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely More About the Opportunity Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week Asynchronous, fully remote work
Before you apply
Applying takes about a minute. These four things decide how fast it moves after that.
Your profile is current
It's what we read first. Occupations, seniority and locations matter more than a long history.
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.
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