Remote Physics Researcher (Contract)

About the role

Mercor is seeking an experienced physics researcher to work remotely on advanced research challenges. This contract position offers flexible hours (approximately 10 hours per week) and competitive compensation.

Key responsibilities

• Solve research‑level physics problems end‑to‑end, providing verifiable derivations, code, and peer‑reviewed references.
• Break down complex challenges into independent checkpoint sub‑problems that require genuine physical reasoning.
• Create Python answer templates with auto‑grading functions for symbolic or numerical solutions.
• Audit submitted solutions for correctness, scope, and methodological soundness, delivering actionable feedback.
• Adjudicate parallel solver attempts and select the reference solution.
• Document chain‑of‑thought reasoning, error tolerances, equivalent symbolic forms, and verification test cases.

Required profile

• PhD or post‑doc in the relevant physics sub‑field (senior PhD student minimum).
• Post‑doc or junior professor (PhD minimum) or full professor/industry research PI (senior post‑doc or junior professor minimum).
• Hands‑on familiarity with at least two canonical methods of the target sub‑field, demonstrated through 3–5 recent publications (arXiv ID or DOI).
• Strong written English (minimum B2/C1/C2).

Required skills

• Python programming
• LaTeX typesetting
• Jupyter Notebook environment
• SymPy symbolic mathematics library

What we offer

• Hourly rate between $80 and $140
• Fully remote work
• Flexible schedule (~10 hours per week)
• Opportunity to contribute to cutting‑edge AI research labs