STEM PhDs and Technical Domain Experts

What you'll do

You use your subject expertise to build training data for a frontier language model, and the specific task the ad names is coming up with difficult problems in your domain. The client is described only as "one of the world's top AI labs".

Problem writing is a particular kind of AI training work. The value is in questions that a strong model gets wrong, with an answer you can defend, so the job rewards people who know where the hard edges of their field are rather than people who can recite its textbook. Expect your problems to be checked against the model and rejected if it solves them easily; the ad does not describe the review loop, but that is how this kind of project usually runs.

Who fits

The ad lists six domains, and you need a PhD or advanced degree in one of them, or industry experience the ad treats as equivalent:

• Medicine and healthcare
• Statistics and data science
• AI and machine learning research
• Computer science
• Game development
• Mechanical and aerospace engineering

Beyond the qualification, it asks for close attention to detail and exceptional written and verbal communication. No minimum years of experience is stated.

There is a hard residence requirement: the listing's location requirements name Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Mercor also states it cannot support H-1B or STEM OPT candidates.

Game development is the outlier on that list. It is unusual to see it grouped with PhD fields, and it is the clearest signal that "equivalent industry experience" is meant seriously: a senior engine or gameplay programmer is a plausible fit even without a doctorate.

What it pays

$55–80 per hour, Mercor's own published figure. Note that the ad's body text gives a different range, $55–90 an hour, so the ceiling on the listing and in the description do not match. Treat $80 as the published top and anything above it as unconfirmed until you see your own offer.

Screening is a short interview and task of 20 to 30 minutes. If you are hired, Mercor says it pays for up to one hour of onboarding time, which covers that screening plus some onboarding videos.

Payment is weekly via Stripe or Wise, based on services rendered.

Worth knowing

Good:

• A wide set of qualifying fields, including game development, which few PhD-level listings accept
• "Equivalent industry experience" is an explicit alternative to the degree
• Short screening, and onboarding time is paid up to an hour if you are hired
• Weekly payment on Stripe or Wise, stated in the ad
• Fully remote on your own schedule
• An active listing: Mercor shows 238 people hired on it this month

Less good:

• Residence is restricted to four countries, and H-1B and STEM OPT holders are excluded
• The pay range in the listing ($55–80) and the description ($55–90) disagree
• Nothing says what decides where you land in the band, or how many hours are available
• The listing has been up for about four months, so check that your domain still has open slots before investing time in the interview
• Projects can be extended, shortened or ended early depending on need and performance
• Contractor engagement: no benefits, and tax is yours to handle

About this listing

Posted by Mercor as an hourly remote contract, and confirmed open on 3 October 2026. The pay range, the four-country requirement, the domain list, the screening time and the payment terms are taken from the ad itself.

Mercor also states the work will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer, client or institution, so problems should come from your own knowledge, not your employer's material. See Mercor.