Forensic / Toxicological Chemist

What you'll do

Mercor is building a panel of chemistry and chemical-safety experts to test whether frontier AI models can tell a legitimate technical question from a dangerous one. The failure runs both ways: a model that refuses routine casework questions is as broken as one that helps with something it should not.

Each task has three parts:

1. Write a prompt in your field, a single-turn question labelled as benign, dual-use or adversarial
2. Judge the model's response against a defined policy standard: was it handled correctly?
3. Write the reference answer, what a correct response looks like and the technical reasoning behind it

Forensic chemistry is a hard case for this, because the knowledge that identifies a substance in casework overlaps heavily with how it was made. Your professional sense of where a routine question ends is exactly what is being paid for.

Who fits

People who have done real casework: identifying substances and precursors and defending the conclusion in a report or in court. Backgrounds the ad names include:

• Controlled-substance identification and quantitation in a forensic lab
• Clandestine laboratory response and scene chemistry
• Forensic toxicology, postmortem or human performance
• Seized-drug and precursor trend monitoring or intelligence analysis
• Expert testimony and report writing

Red-teaming experience is a bonus. The work is writing-heavy: every judgment needs a rationale a non-specialist can follow, so send a writing sample or link (a published paper, a redacted report, testimony) with your application.

What it pays

$65–75 per task, Mercor's published figure. The ad does not say how long a task takes, so your effective hourly rate depends entirely on your speed at the three-part cycle. Time your first few tasks before committing a block of hours.

This listing does not carry Mercor's usual payment-terms block, so weekly payment and visa terms are not stated here; confirm them during onboarding.

Before you apply

The work must not draw on classified or export-controlled information, or anything under an NDA or prepublication review. If you hold such obligations you can still apply: say so and Mercor will scope the work around them.

You will also be reading and writing about misuse scenarios for long stretches. Mercor says experts are briefed in advance and can pause or step away at any time without penalty. Take that seriously if your casework already involved distressing material.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Directly uses casework judgment that few people have
• Explicit welfare provision for difficult content
• No country restriction published

Less good:

• Per-task pay with no stated task length
• Payment schedule and eligibility terms not published on the listing
• Sustained exposure to misuse scenarios

About this listing

Posted by Mercor as a remote contract, confirmed open on 24 September 2026. The same red-team panel is hiring Industrial Hygienists / Process Safety Engineers, Analytical Chemists and Synthetic / Process Chemists. See Mercor.