Plasma Physics PhD - Fusion Expert

About the role

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.

This is a remote, contract position with compensation at $75/hour.

Responsibilities

• Design expert-level problems in plasma physics and fusion, focusing on magnetic confinement, tokamak and stellarator design, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), and gyrokinetics.
• Review problems authored by peers for clarity, genuine difficulty, and ground-truth correctness.
• Evaluate and compare AI model outputs. Deliver Accept / Revise / Reject verdicts with detailed written rationale.
• Collaborate with AI research teams to enhance the rigor and accuracy of AI-generated solutions.
• Work independently and asynchronously to meet deadlines and improve AI model performance.

Requirements

• PhD or equivalent research experience in plasma physics, fusion energy, nuclear engineering, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience with magnetic-confinement fusion (tokamak or stellarator), MHD, plasma transport, or gyrokinetic simulation.
• Strong scientific writing and meticulous attention to detail.