High Energy Physicist (PhD)

What you'll do

Three of the seven areas on this panel are about one topic, large-momentum effective theory and quasi-PDFs, which says a lot about where Mercor needs people. Perturbative QCD theorists who compute loops by hand have the widest opening here.

The work is for CritPt, a public benchmark of research-level physics problems built to test whether frontier AI models can reason like a working physicist rather than solve textbook exercises. The benchmark paper is arXiv:2509.26574, and Mercor suggests reading it before you apply. Depending on where your publications fit, you create problems, solve them, review finished work or audit it; Mercor agrees the exact assignment once you are matched to an area. Everything you hand in has to be complete enough for another specialist to follow and verify independently, so written reasoning is part of every task.

Who qualifies

Seven research areas, matched narrowly. You need papers on one of these phenomena, not high energy theory in general:

• AdS/BCFT, end-of-the-world branes and black hole interiors
• LaMET and quasi-PDFs, split into three areas: matching kernels and DGLAP evolution, one-loop perturbative QCD and renormalization, and Coulomb gauge matching with lattice QCD parton structure
• Ultralight vector (dark photon) dark matter in laser interferometers
• Matrix models and invariant theory: Grassmann-valued invariants, Molien-Weyl and Hilbert series
• The superconformal and Witten index, finite-N trace relations and plethystic counting

For the quasi-PDF areas the listing is explicit: loop-calculation experience is required, and lattice experience alone is not enough.

A PhD in high energy theory, nuclear theory or a closely related field is a hard requirement. Postdocs, research scientists and junior faculty are the strongest fit, and senior PhD students with a strong first-author record may apply. Mercor asks for three to five representative papers with arXiv IDs or DOIs, ideally from the last five years and first-authored, and checks every one against the public record. You work in LaTeX, Python, SymPy and Jupyter, and need English at B2 or above.

What it pays

$80–110 per hour, Mercor's published figure and the same band across its CritPt physics panels. The listing does not state weekly hours or payment terms.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Three quasi-PDF areas give perturbative QCD theorists a wide opening
• Nuclear theorists are eligible as well as high energy theorists
• No country restriction published

Less good:

• Lattice-only QCD researchers do not qualify for the quasi-PDF areas
• Every listed paper is checked
• Hours and payment schedule not on the listing

About this listing

Posted by Mercor as a remote hourly contract, confirmed open on 27 September 2026 and flagged as a new opportunity. Another CritPt panel: Condensed Matter Physicist (PhD). See Mercor.