Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist
Mercor · 100% remote · Contract · Posted
- Pay
- $61–77/hr
- Location
- Worldwide
- Languages
- English
- Hours
- 10+ hours/week
- Openings
- Not listed
- Level
- Expert
Summary
Author and review rigorous multiple-choice physics questions for AI research benchmarks. Tasks include creating original questions, verifying accuracy, rating difficulty, and documenting edits.
What you'll do
- Author original physics questions testing deep conceptual understanding
- Verify pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor
- Rate each question's difficulty as Medium, Hard, or Expert
- Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible incorrect alternatives
- Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions in markdown format
- Supply 1 to 5 academic references per question
- Flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability in verification tasks
Requirements
- Hold a PhD or doctoral candidacy in Physics, Applied Physics, Astrophysics, or a closely related field
- Possess strong command of graduate-level physics concepts and mathematical formalism
- Demonstrate excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly
- Show experience with rigorous academic problem design or physics olympiad writing is a plus
Skills
- Physics
- Semiconductor Physics
- Nanoelectronics
- Spintronics
- Photonics
- Quantum Optics
- Plasma Physics
- Geophysics
Full description
Role Overview
We are seeking expert physicists to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core physics domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities.
You will be assigned one of two task types:
Question Authoring — Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of physics expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review.
Question Verification — Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made.
Physics Domains Covered
Semiconductor Physics, Nanoelectronics & Spintronics, Photonics, Quantum Optics & Ultrafast, Quantum Sensing & Metrology, Plasma Physics & Fusion Energy, Nonlinear Dynamics & Turbulence, Geophysics & Reservoir Simulation.
Key Responsibilities
Author original physics questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall
Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined — all necessary information must be in the problem statement
Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above)
Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers
Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise intermediate steps in markdown format
Supply 1–5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories)
For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made
Ideal Qualifications
PhD or doctoral candidate in Physics, Applied Physics, Astrophysics, or a closely related field
Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain
Strong command of graduate-level physics concepts and mathematical formalism
Experience with rigorous academic problem design or physics olympiad writing is a strong plus
Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely
More About the Opportunity
Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week
Asynchronous, fully remote work
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