Research Scientist: Formal Methods / Computational Science

What you'll do

This is research-and-evaluation work, not production engineering. The ad describes a cohort of senior experts in formal methods and computational science, spanning math, physics, chemistry and biology, who help assess how frontier AI models reason about hard, real-world problems. You define what "correct" and "excellent" look like on problems you already know deeply.

• Design realistic technical scenarios and problem sets within your track
• Author expert-level reference solutions and grading rubrics
• Evaluate AI-generated outputs for correctness, depth and domain judgment

Who fits

• Domain: science (math, physics, chemistry or biology)
• 10+ years of experience and a PhD or doctorate, both stated as required
• Currently or recently active in the field, hands-on and not purely academic-adjacent
• Strong written communication, because you author technical explanations and structured feedback
• Comfortable with independent, asynchronous, remote work

Preferred: a research publication or open-source record, experience reviewing or grading others' technical work (peer review, code review, editing), and track-specific signal such as formal methods and theorem proving (Lean or Coq), computational biology and genomics, or condensed-matter and quantum physics.

The ad states plainly that candidates meeting the requirements and supplying the requested materials are prioritised, that background checks are run, and that candidates who meet fewer than 70% of the stated qualifications may be flagged for misrepresenting their experience, which could affect eligibility for future project staffing. Apply only if you genuinely fit.

What it pays

The board headlines $135/hr. The ad's "why apply" section gives $100 to $170/hr, based on experience, so that range is recorded here. Weekly hours, payment schedule and payment method are not published on this listing; the AfterQuery company page explains how AfterQuery pays.

Worth knowing

Good:

• One of the higher hourly bands on AfterQuery's STEM board
• Work centred on your own deep expertise, with a research flavour
• Fully remote, flexible and asynchronous

Less good:

• A demanding filter: 10+ years and a PhD, with background checks and a stated flagging policy
• The ad does not give a weekly hours commitment or say how work is assigned
• The ad does not describe its hiring steps; AfterQuery's help centre describes an unpaid, one-attempt assessment and ID verification for its expert pools

About this listing

Read from the AfterQuery Experts board on 18 October 2026; posted 4 August 2026 in the STEM department. The board title uses an em dash style separator, replaced here with a colon. See AfterQuery.