Computational Chemist - Quantum Specialist

About the job

Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, our investors include Benchmark , General Catalyst , Peter Thiel , Adam D'Angelo , Larry Summers , and Jack Dorsey .

Position: STEM Computational Scientific Software & Evaluation Design - Computational Chemistry & Electronic Structure

Type: Contract

Compensation: $70–$100/hour

Location: Remote

Commitment: 15–20 hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Design graduate-level computational problems using domain-specific scientific software libraries.
• Develop tasks that require strategic reasoning to uncover hidden information through experiments and queries.
• Calibrate and refine problem designs against state-of-the-art AI models to achieve target difficulty.
• Collaborate on AI model training, evaluation, and improvement by shaping problem-solving strategies.
• Work independently and asynchronously to iterate on problem designs and meet deadlines.
• Utilize PySCF for quantum chemistry calculations, including Hartree-Fock , DFT , TDDFT , and CASSCF .

Qualifications

Must-Have

• Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM domain ( MS, PhD, or equivalent research experience ).
• Proficiency with at least one scientific software library, evidenced by research publications or professional work.
• Strong Python programming skills for writing problem setups and solution validators.
• Ability to work independently and iterate on designs based on feedback.
• Comfortable in a Linux/terminal environment with remote compute sandboxes.

Preferred

• Experience across multiple listed domains or tools.
• Familiarity with benchmark or evaluation design.
• Background in scientific pedagogy or exam/problem-set design.
• Experience with computational reproducibility and containerized environments.

Application Process (Takes 20–30 mins to complete)

• Upload resume
• AI interview based on your resume
• Submit form

Resources & Support

• For details about the interview process and platform information, please check:
• For any help or support, reach out to: [email protected]

PS: Our team reviews applications daily. Please complete your AI interview and application steps to be considered for this opportunity.