Inorganic Materials, Semiconductor & Superconductor Experts

What you'll do

This is the bench-side counterpart to Mercor's computational materials listing. A frontier AI lab building models for materials science wants experimentalists to supply what those models learn about synthesis, characterization, fabrication and device physics.

The deliverables are the same kind of thing a strong lab notebook and a hard qualifying exam produce together:

• Expert-level problems in your specialty, designed and solved by you
• Reviews of AI-generated scientific reasoning, with errors caught and corrected
• Ratings and rankings of model outputs against defined criteria, with written reasoning
• Experimental procedures, characterization results and process data restructured into model-ready form

The value you add is the tacit knowledge that rarely makes it into papers: why a sol-gel route fails at scale, what a suspicious XRD shoulder usually means, which etch step ruins yield. That is exactly what a model trained on literature alone tends to get wrong.

Who fits

• Hands-on experimental work in at least one of: inorganic synthesis (solid-state, solution, solvothermal, sol-gel), superconducting materials, or semiconductors and advanced packaging
• Strong materials or device characterization: XRD, SEM, TEM, spectroscopy, electrical and transport measurements
• Thin-film growth or device fabrication (MBE/epitaxy, MOCVD, CVD, sputtering, IBAD, etch, clean-room microfabrication) is a plus
• A PhD or MS, or equivalent hands-on experience, in materials science, chemistry, physics or a related engineering field
• Clear written English

The "or equivalent experience" clause is the notable difference from the computational sibling, which asks for a PhD. Senior fab engineers and process technicians with deep industry experience are in range here.

What it pays and the commitment

A flat $84 per hour, long-term and ongoing, 10 to 40 hours a week. The ad lists the United States as a location requirement. Payment is weekly via Stripe or Wise; H-1B and STEM OPT candidates cannot be supported.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Industry experience can substitute for a doctorate
• Long-term, with a flexible 10 to 40 hour range
• Covers semiconductor packaging, a field AI-training listings almost never target

Less good:

• US-only, with visa exclusions that affect many international researchers
• Flat $84 with no stated band or progression
• The ad does not say how much of the work is authoring versus reviewing
• Independent contractor; projects can be extended, shortened or ended early

About this listing

Posted by Mercor as a remote hourly contract for US-based contributors, confirmed open on 24 September 2026. Rate, hours and qualifications are the ad's own. Computational scientists should see Atomistic & Surface Modeling Experts, also at $84. See Mercor.