Surface Modeling Expert Fully Remote

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 DAngelo Larry Summers and Jack Dorsey.

Position: Atomistic & Surface Modeling Experts (Computational Materials & Catalysis)
Type: Contract
Compensation: $84/hour
Location: Remote
Commitment: 1040 hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Contribute domain expertise in first-principles and molecular simulation to build high-quality training and evaluation data.
• Review and evaluate AI-generated scientific reasoning to improve technical accuracy.
• Design and solve expert-level problems in atomistic and surface modeling.
• Rate and rank model outputs against scientific criteria with clear reasoning.
• Structure technical knowledge into well-organized model-ready data.
• Deliver reliable high-quality work within defined timelines.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• Hands-on experience with atomistic modeling using first-principles or molecular methods (DFT ab initio molecular dynamics classical MD or Monte Carlo).
• Experience modeling surfaces interfaces and adsorption or reaction phenomena.
• Proficiency with standard tooling (e.g. VASP Quantum ESPRESSO CP2K GPAW LAMMPS ASE pymatgen).
• PhD in materials science chemistry physics chemical engineering or a related field.
• Clear written English and the ability to explain technical reasoning concisely.

Preferred

• Experience modeling semiconductor-relevant materials or a background in computational (heterogeneous) catalysis.

Application Process (Takes 2030 mins to complete)

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

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