Computational Materials Science Expert

What you'll do

This is applied ML research rather than prompt writing. You build, train and evaluate machine learning models on simulation data such as DFT, molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo outputs, covering property prediction, materials discovery and structure-property modelling. Both supervised and unsupervised approaches are in scope.

You also contribute to materials informatics workflows that combine ML with high-throughput computational pipelines, and document your methods, model assumptions and approach clearly enough to be reproduced. The ad does not say how the output feeds into AI model training, so treat it as research tasks on real atomistic, electronic or structural datasets.

Who fits

• A Master's or PhD in Materials Science, Computational Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science or a related quantitative field
• At least one first-author publication in a peer-reviewed journal
• Demonstrated expertise in both machine learning and computational materials science (DFT, force field development, atomistic simulation or materials informatics)
• Able to work independently on technical tasks

Preferred: teaching or TA experience in computational physics, chemistry or materials courses; familiarity with materials-focused graph neural networks such as CGCNN, MatGL, M3GNet or ALIGNN; and experience with VASP, Quantum ESPRESSO, LAMMPS or ASE.

What it pays

The ad's own text puts project-based pay at $150 to $200 per hour, while the AfterQuery board headlines $175 per hour, the midpoint.

Work runs over roughly the next 2 to 3 weeks, asynchronous and assigned project by project, with an expected 10 to 20 hours a week on the projects you accept. The ad does not publish payment terms such as frequency or a weekly minimum.

How hiring works

The ad does not describe its hiring steps. AfterQuery's help centre describes an unpaid, single-attempt assessment and identity verification, summarised on the company page.

Worth knowing

Good:

• The top hourly band among these AfterQuery science roles
• Real research problems on atomistic and electronic datasets, useful for a portfolio
• Async work on your schedule, and you choose which projects to accept

Less good:

• A short, defined engagement of 2 to 3 weeks, not an ongoing role
• A first-author publication is a hard requirement, and the field needs both ML and simulation depth
• Payment terms are not stated on the listing

About this listing

Read from the AfterQuery Experts board on 18 October 2026, where it was posted on 16 April 2026. The pay range, time commitment and qualifications are AfterQuery's own text. See AfterQuery.