Federal Certified Materials Specialist / Incident Analyst

What you'll do

This listing recruits the investigator's perspective onto Mercor's energetic materials red-team panel: people who work after the event, identifying what was used, and who inspect the licensees who hold material. The panel tests whether frontier AI models answer legitimate forensic and regulatory questions properly and decline the ones aimed at harm or at evading detection. Over-refusal counts as a failure too.

Per task you:

1. Write one single-turn prompt from casework or inspection practice, labelled benign, dual-use or adversarial
2. Assess the model's reply against a defined policy standard
3. Write the reference answer, with the reasoning a reviewer can check

Investigators are well placed for this because the same knowledge serves both enforcement and evasion. A lab identification question from a trainee analyst and a question about what inspectors look for can be entirely routine, or can be someone checking how not to get caught. Telling those apart, and explaining the call to a non-specialist, is the core skill.

Who fits

People who have worked scenes and casework under a national certification. The ad's examples:

• Federally certified explosives specialist or a national equivalent
• Forensic laboratory identification of energetic materials and post-blast residues
• Post-incident analysis and reporting for an agency or laboratory
• Regulatory inspection of licensees and permittees: storage, records, diversion indicators
• Expert testimony or casework on energetic materials

Red-teaming experience is preferred. Report writing and courtroom testimony are exactly the kind of evidence Mercor asks for; include a sample or link that you are free to share.

What it pays

$65–75 per task, Mercor's published figure and the same band as the panel's other roles. The ad gives no task length, so the effective hourly rate depends on your speed. Former agency staff used to salaried work should time a few tasks before planning around it.

Payment schedule and visa eligibility are not published on this listing; confirm both at onboarding.

Before you apply

No classified or export-controlled information, and nothing covered by an NDA or prepublication review. Case files and agency material are almost certainly in that category, so draw on your professional judgment, not on specific cases. If you carry such obligations you may still apply by declaring them, and Mercor says it will scope your work around them.

Expect sustained reading and writing about misuse scenarios. Mercor briefs experts beforehand and lets you pause or step away without penalty.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Puts investigative and inspection judgment to direct use
• Report-writing experience translates straight into the rationale work
• No country restriction published

Less good:

• Casework you know best is likely off limits as source material
• Per-task pay with no stated task length
• Payment terms missing from the listing

About this listing

Posted by Mercor as a remote contract, confirmed open on 24 September 2026 and marked as a new opportunity. See Mercor.