Preclinical R&D Expert: ADC & Bispecifics

What you'll do

This is the specialist cut of Mercor's preclinical R&D listing for the same venture-backed AI lab, which builds physics-based foundation models for chemistry, materials and drug discovery. Where the general version takes any modality, this one wants people who have worked on ADCs or bispecific (or multispecific) antibodies directly.

That focus says something about the lab's direction. ADCs and bispecifics are engineered, multi-component molecules (antibody, linker and payload; or two binding arms plus format), where the design trade-offs are harder to model than a single small molecule. People who have made those calls in practice are scarce, which is presumably why they get their own listing.

The work itself:

• Reviewing technical material and real R&D data across ADC or bispecific programs
• Labelling, classifying and annotating scientific data and model outputs
• Giving an expert view on target and modality selection, optimisation, trade-offs and risk
• Helping define the structure and quality standards of the client's dataset pipeline
• Joining expert discussions, interviews and research sessions, directly with the client team

Who fits

• Must have: hands-on, non-administrative preclinical R&D at a company that develops its own assets and has taken programs to the clinic
• Must have: direct experience with ADCs and/or bispecific or multispecific antibodies
• Must have: a core R&D function: discovery biology, medicinal chemistry, protein or antibody engineering, computational, in vivo or translational, pharmacology and PK/PD, toxicology, or CMC and formulation
• 5+ years of relevant industry R&D (flexible for depth)
• Nice to have: a program through lead optimisation or IND-enabling work; time at a mid-sized, emerging or resource-constrained biotech, ideally outside the top-20 pharma companies

Not a fit if your work is mainly CRO or CDMO services, academic-only, QC or analytical-only, clinical-development-only, diagnostics, or regulatory and medical writing. Individual contributors through Director level are welcome.

Linker chemists, conjugation and CMC scientists and antibody engineers all fall inside the named functions, so the listing is broader within its modality than the title suggests.

What it pays

$60–100 per hour, identical to the general preclinical listing, for an ongoing engagement of roughly 10 hours a week. The specialist requirement does not buy a higher band. Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise, as an independent contractor.

Worth knowing

Good:

• A small, specialised pool, so relevant experience stands out
• Ongoing work at about 10 hours a week, not a one-off pilot
• Direct contact with the client team and advisory input, not only labelling
• IC through Director welcome; no location requirement published

Less good:

• Same pay as the any-modality version despite the narrower requirement
• CRO and CDMO conjugation experience does not count
• $60 floor is low for senior biologics scientists
• H-1B and STEM OPT candidates cannot be supported
• Contractor engagement; projects can be extended, shortened or ended early

About this listing

Posted by Mercor for an unnamed AI lab, as an hourly remote contract, confirmed open on 24 September 2026. The pay band, 10-hour engagement and must-haves are the ad's own. See Mercor.