micro1Coding & software eval
Materials Scientist / Engineer
up to $130/hr
About this role, in micro1's words
micro1 is selecting Materials Science Experts to contribute to a customer's project focused on advancing the capabilities of AI technologies in materials engineering. In this role, you'll apply your expertise to help train next-generation AI systems. Your work will shape how models learn, reason, and perform through high-quality, real-world input. No prior experience in AI is required, your domain knowledge is what matters. This is an opportunity to impact the future of engineering by ensuring that AI systems can accurately interpret, solve, and explain complex materials challenges spanning selection, failure analysis, testing, and process development. Experts with a passion for precision, technical detail, and clear written and verbal communication will find this engagement both rewarding and influential.
What you'll do
Scope of Work
- Evaluate and solve advanced materials science and engineering problems spanning materials selection, failure analysis, testing, and process development.
- Review and assess AI-generated technical responses for technical correctness, accuracy, and engineering quality.
- Apply practical engineering judgment to real-world materials selection and failure scenarios and theoretical questions.
Show all 7 itemsHide the other 4 in Scope of Work
- Analyze and troubleshoot materials issues using industry-standard techniques such as microstructural analysis, fractography, mechanical testing (tensile, fatigue, hardness), and thermodynamic/kinetic modeling.
- Contribute domain expertise to inform model improvements and refine AI reasoning in materials science and engineering.
- Document feedback and provide clear written and verbal explanations to enhance AI learning and performance.
- Collaborate remotely with a distributed team of experts and project participants.
Candidate background
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree and above in Materials Science & Engineering, Metallurgy, or ME/ChemE with a materials specialization.
- At least 3 years of hands-on experience in materials selection, failure analysis, testing, or process development.
- Expert knowledge of material classes (metals, polymers, ceramics, composites), microstructure-property relationships, and degradation/failure mechanisms.
Show all 8 itemsHide the other 5 in Preferred Qualifications
- Proven ability to analyze root-cause failures using fractography, metallography, and mechanical/thermal test data.
- Familiarity with relevant standards bodies (ASTM, ASM, ISO materials standards) and process qualification requirements.
- Professional English proficiency with exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience with materials characterization equipment (SEM, XRD, TEM, DSC/TGA) or process development in a manufacturing environment is a plus.
- Strongly preferred — evidence of problem-authoring rigor, such as: service on an olympiad problem committee; a textbook problem-set or solutions-manual author credit; an item-writer role on an NCEES or academic qualifying-exam committee; service on an ASTM, ASM, or ISO materials standards committee; a top placement or team-lead role in the TMS Materials Bowl, ASM International undergraduate design competition, or an MRS student award; a best-paper award at TMS Annual Meeting, MS&T, or MRS, or a publication in Acta Materialia / Nature Materials; an Acta Materialia Silver Medal; or an early-career fellowship/grant (NSF CAREER, DOE Early Career, Sloan Fellowship) or TMS Young Leader / MRS Outstanding Young Investigator recognition.
Quoted from selected sections of micro1's posting. The full posting may state other conditions. Read the full posting
A closer look
More context, when you need it.
Full job descriptionThe original posting, in micro1's words
Posted by micro1, reproduced here so you can judge the role before clicking. Original posting ↗
Job Description Role Title: Materials Science Expert
Role Type: Contractor
Location: Remote
micro1 is selecting Materials Science Experts to contribute to a customer's project focused on advancing the capabilities of AI technologies in materials engineering. In this role, you'll apply your expertise to help train next-generation AI systems. Your work will shape how models learn, reason, and perform through high-quality, real-world input. No prior experience in AI is required, your domain knowledge is what matters. This is an opportunity to impact the future of engineering by ensuring that AI systems can accurately interpret, solve, and explain complex materials challenges spanning selection, failure analysis, testing, and process development. Experts with a passion for precision, technical detail, and clear written and verbal communication will find this engagement both rewarding and influential.
Scope of Work
• Evaluate and solve advanced materials science and engineering problems spanning materials selection, failure analysis, testing, and process development.
• Review and assess AI-generated technical responses for technical correctness, accuracy, and engineering quality.
• Apply practical engineering judgment to real-world materials selection and failure scenarios and theoretical questions.
• Analyze and troubleshoot materials issues using industry-standard techniques such as microstructural analysis, fractography, mechanical testing (tensile, fatigue, hardness), and thermodynamic/kinetic modeling.
• Contribute domain expertise to inform model improvements and refine AI reasoning in materials science and engineering.
• Document feedback and provide clear written and verbal explanations to enhance AI learning and performance.
• Collaborate remotely with a distributed team of experts and project participants.
Preferred Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree and above in Materials Science & Engineering, Metallurgy, or ME/ChemE with a materials specialization.
• At least 3 years of hands-on experience in materials selection, failure analysis, testing, or process development.
• Expert knowledge of material classes (metals, polymers, ceramics, composites), microstructure-property relationships, and degradation/failure mechanisms.
• Proven ability to analyze root-cause failures using fractography, metallography, and mechanical/thermal test data.
• Familiarity with relevant standards bodies (ASTM, ASM, ISO materials standards) and process qualification requirements.
• Professional English proficiency with exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with materials characterization equipment (SEM, XRD, TEM, DSC/TGA) or process development in a manufacturing environment is a plus.
• Strongly preferred — evidence of problem-authoring rigor, such as: service on an olympiad problem committee; a textbook problem-set or solutions-manual author credit; an item-writer role on an NCEES or academic qualifying-exam committee; service on an ASTM, ASM, or ISO materials standards committee; a top placement or team-lead role in the TMS Materials Bowl, ASM International undergraduate design competition, or an MRS student award; a best-paper award at TMS Annual Meeting, MS&T, or MRS, or a publication in Acta Materialia / Nature Materials; an Acta Materialia Silver Medal; or an early-career fellowship/grant (NSF CAREER, DOE Early Career, Sloan Fellowship) or TMS Young Leader / MRS Outstanding Young Investigator recognition.
Compensation Structure
Compensation is output-based; experts are paid per task that meets the project specifications. The time required to complete work may vary depending on the expert’s experience and workflow. Minimum submission requirements apply. Experts must submit a minimum of tasks per week.
Start Timeline & Availability
We typically fill roles within 48 hours and are looking for experts ready to jump in right away. If selected, we expect you to start your first tasks within 24–48 hours of completing onboarding.
Working with micro1Pay, getting started and work, from micro1's own pages
What the platform publishes in general. These are not extra terms confirmed for this particular role.
- Getting paid
- Paid in US dollars twice a month through Deel, usually landing around the 5th and the 20th. Nothing is paid until Deel's identity check is done. library.micro1.ai/working/faqs, library.micro1.ai/working/payroll-policy
- Before your first paid task
- An AI interview with micro1's recruiter Zara, then your profile, ID verification, a KarmaCheck background check and the Deel contract. Some pipelines add a quiz or test task. micro1.ai/experts, micro1.ai/ai-interview-guide, library.micro1.ai/getting-started/next-steps-after-certif..., library.micro1.ai/working/faqs, library.micro1.ai/working/what-to-expect
- How much work
- Certification makes you eligible but does not guarantee placement. micro1's FAQ puts the usual commitment at about 15 to 20 hours a week, depending on the client. micro1.ai/experts, library.micro1.ai/working/faqs
- Contract
- Independent contractor, with the contract issued through Deel. library.micro1.ai/policies/understanding-your-expert-agre..., library.micro1.ai/working/deel
Read on the pages linked above on 23 Sep 2026. Platforms change these terms, so check the linked page before you rely on one.
Alex's experience on micro1A personal account, not a promise about your project
Alexruns this site and has worked on micro1 himself. Written 31 Aug 2026.
- Every interview I took used an AI interviewer, and some included a timed business exercise of around 25 minutes.
- On later applications, interview reuse on micro1 was often partial, and I still answered questions about one to three additional skills.
- I entered a requested rate for the job. One listing showed about $180 an hour. I requested about $160 and received the rate I entered. Those amounts are approximate, and this describes my application, not proof that a lower request caused acceptance.
- Onboarding and setup came to about 2 hours, with clear materials. Of the three platforms I worked on, it was the easiest transition into work. That is an estimate from my projects, not a platform average.
- On my micro1 project, Hubstaff showed time and mouse or keyboard activity, not screenshots, app names or website history. That describes what I saw, not every possible setup.
- I was paid for hours logged, once every 14 days, and I have not experienced late or incorrect payments. That was my arrangement.
One person's applications, not a promise about yours.
What happens after you apply, first-handHow does the pay compare?Across Coding & software eval roles, not this role alone
From our own daily reads of every open listing on the platforms we follow, not from micro1's posting. How we count.
Pay across the field: Coding & software eval
Across 393 roles in this field with a stated hourly rate in US dollars, on 14 platforms, the middle half pays $65 to $120 an hour at the top of the range, and the median is $95. This role's top rate, $130, is in the top quarter. Of the 140 distinct rates we count, 115 are lower and 23 are higher.
| Platform | Roles | Top of range, per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Alignerr | 137 | $50 to $400 · median $100 |
| micro1 (this platform) | 45 | $35 to $350 · median $110 |
| Handshake AI | 43 | $47 to $125 · median $80 |
| Meridial (Invisible) | 34 | $22 to $150 · median $60 |
| Mercor | 33 | $60 to $200 · median $105 |
Sources and listing historyWhere this information comes from
This listing's history
- First seen here on 24 Aug 2026, and still on micro1's list when we last read it on 13 Oct 2026.
- The listed pay has not changed since then.
- Posted by micro1
- First seen by AIPayList
- Last seen live
- Listing ID
- 18eba353-af76-465d-989f-bb9c22216342
Pay as the source states it: “micro1 job record, ideal_hourly_rate: $80–$130/hr”.
Platforms sometimes change a rate after posting. Every listing here is re-read at least once a day and corrected when its source moves, so a difference you see on the platform is usually a change made since the last read. How freshness works.
Keep exploring
More like this
Related field, different requirements. Check each role's own page before you apply.