Material Science PhD Coding Experts

What you'll do

This is the materials science seat on Mercor's "Sci Code" benchmark, built with leading AI labs to test models on real scientific computing. You write research problems that a frontier model cannot currently solve, with code that runs and grading criteria that decide what counts as correct.

The workflow:

1. Pick your own source: a published paper, a Kaggle dataset, an open-source repository, or a scenario you invent
2. Turn it into a scientific prompt
3. Write the grading criteria
4. Calibrate against frontier models; a task only ships when strong models fail it more often than they succeed

Authoring happens through a pull-request workflow with automated quality checks, running code in Docker. If you have only ever run scripts locally, that tooling will be the steepest part of onboarding.

The adversarial calibration step is what makes this harder than it sounds. You will likely write several candidate problems for each one that survives, and your hours go into the failed attempts too.

Who qualifies

• A PhD in materials science, materials engineering, applied physics, chemistry, chemical engineering or a close field
• Demonstrated depth in both semiconductor materials and molecular modeling
• Working Python, R or another scientific computing language
• Comfort with Git/GitHub and Docker

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

The two-subdomain requirement is the narrowest part. A semiconductor device physicist with no molecular modeling, or a molecular dynamics specialist outside semiconductors, does not meet it as written.

What it pays and the commitment

A flat $70 per hour, paid weekly on Stripe or Wise. The same rate as the sister Chemistry PhD Coding Experts listing.

• Duration: 6 weeks
• Commitment: part-time, 20+ hours a week
• Start: immediate

At 20 hours a week for six weeks, the minimum engagement is about $8,400 before tax.

How to apply

Upload a resume and application form, then a 25-minute conversational interview about your background and motivation. Mercor says it follows up within a few days.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Genuinely research-flavoured work, and you choose your own source material
• Very active: 212 hired this month
• Fixed, known duration and rate
• Light interview process

Less good:

• The dual-subdomain requirement is strict
• $70 flat is modest for a PhD-gated role
• 20+ hours a week is a real commitment alongside a research job
• H-1B and STEM OPT holders are excluded

About this listing

Posted by Mercor as a remote hourly contract, read on 24 September 2026. Rate, duration, hours, requirements and payment terms are the ad's own. See Mercor.