Bioinformatics PhD - Genomics Specialist

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.

About the role

Contract position, 15–20 hours per week, fully remote. Compensation: $70–$100/hour.

Responsibilities

• Design challenging computational problems to evaluate AI capabilities in scientific research.
• Create problems requiring skilled use of specialized scientific software like scanpy, scvelo, squidpy, and gudhi.
• Test and refine problems against state-of-the-art AI models to achieve target difficulty.
• Develop problems that require strategic planning and efficient narrowing of possibilities.
• Work independently to refine problem designs based on feedback.

Requirements

• Graduate-level training in a relevant STEM field (MS, PhD, or equivalent research experience).
• Proven proficiency with at least one of the listed scientific software libraries.
• Strong Python skills.
• Ability to work independently and refine problem designs.
• Comfortable working in a Linux/terminal environment.

Qualifications

Preferred:

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