Biology PhD Coding Experts

What you'll do

Sci Code is a benchmark for scientific computing that Mercor is building with leading AI labs. This listing is the biology track: you write original, executable research problems that current frontier models cannot solve.

The workflow, from the ad:

1. Source the material yourself: a published paper, a Kaggle dataset, an open-source repository, or a scenario you design
2. Write the scientific prompt built on that input
3. Build the grading criteria that define a correct answer
4. Calibrate against frontier models: a task only ships when strong models fail it more often than they pass

Step 4 is the hard part. You will write problems that seem difficult and watch a model solve them, then have to find where its reasoning or its code actually breaks: numerical edge cases, subtle biological assumptions, analysis choices a textbook would not flag.

Authoring runs through a pull-request workflow with automated quality checks, so each task is code plus prose, versioned in Git and run in Docker.

Who fits

Required:

• A PhD in biology, biological sciences, biochemistry, genetics, ecology or a close field
• Demonstrated depth in at least two of ecology, biochemistry and genetics, with a coding focus
• Working proficiency in Python, R or another scientific computing language
• Comfort with Git, GitHub and running code in Docker

Preferred: peer-reviewed publications and prior scientific software or research engineering work.

The two-subdomain rule is the filter to note. A computational geneticist with biochemistry depth fits; a pure field ecologist who does not code will not.

Engagement and process

• Duration: 6 weeks, starting immediately
• Commitment: part-time, 20+ hours a week
• Process: resume and application form, then a 25-minute conversational interview, then next steps and onboarding within a few days

What it pays

A flat $70 per hour. At the 20-hour minimum over six weeks that is at least $8,400 before tax, if hours hold. Payment is weekly via Stripe or Wise. H-1B and STEM OPT candidates cannot be supported.

For multiple-choice rather than coding work, the Applied Biology Benchmark Specialist listing pays $60–75 an hour with a lower 10-hour weekly floor.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Short, defined engagement with a quick, conversational interview
• Creative work: you choose the source material
• Very active: 209 hires on the listing this month when we checked
• No country restriction is published

Less good:

• Only 6 weeks, and 20+ hours a week is a real load next to a research job
• Calibration against frontier models can mean discarding tasks you invested in
• PhD required, unlike the benchmark listing that accepts candidates
• Independent contractor; projects can be extended, shortened or ended early

About this listing

Posted by Mercor as a remote hourly contract, confirmed open on 24 September 2026. Duration, hours, requirements and pay are the ad's own. See Mercor.