MercorDomain experts
Compensation & Equity Expert (Total Rewards)
up to $200/hr
About this role, in Mercor's words
Mercor's People team is building its compensation and equity foundation from scratch. We want to think it through with people who have done it before.
A closer look
More context, when you need it.
Full job descriptionThe original posting, in Mercor's words
Posted by Mercor, reproduced here so you can judge the role before clicking. Original posting ↗
Mercor's People team is building its compensation and equity foundation from scratch. We want to think it through with people who have done it before.
We're looking for Total Rewards practitioners with depth in one or both of the following. Either one on its own is enough.
Compensation design & architecture
• Built salary bands, leveling frameworks, and job architecture from the ground up
• Owned an annual compensation cycle: merit planning, promotion decisions, bonus programs, equity refresh
• Benchmarked against a peer set you then had to defend to a skeptical exec team
• Designed incentive structures that were simple, credible, and changed behavior
Equity program management
• Designed option and RSU programs: grant guidelines, pool planning, vesting structures, refresh philosophy
• Worked through 409A valuations, plan governance, and grant administration at a venture-backed company
• Built the modeling and communication that lets candidates and employees understand what their equity is worth
Those two are what we screen on. Nothing below is required. If you have the whole Total Rewards picture, say so.
Also valuable
• Compensation philosophy, benchmarking methodology, pay equity and pay transparency
• Compensation design for a global or contractor workforce at scale
• Benefits program design, HRIS and compensation tooling
• Executive compensation, plan governance, or equity through IPO readiness
Context
Mercor is a Series C company at a $10B valuation, scaling from roughly 500 employees, with a large global contractor network alongside a growing full-time workforce. Nothing is settled yet: what the compensation philosophy should be, how levels map across very different functions, how equity gets granted and explained.
How this works
Applying starts with a short screen. If your background fits, we'll invite you to a paid conversation about a live question we're facing. You're paid for it whether or not anything follows.
Rate is $50–$200/hr depending on depth of experience. Engagements run a few hours at a time, scoped to one question.
We review every submission.
Working with MercorPay, getting started and work, from Mercor's own pages
What the platform publishes in general. These are not extra terms confirmed for this particular role.
- Getting paid
- Hourly work is paid every Wednesday for the previous week, through Stripe Connect or Wise, whichever Mercor assigns to your region. Stripe holds the first payout for 7 days. talent.docs.mercor.com/how-to/payments, talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/contracts
- Before your first paid task
- An AI interview of about 20 minutes, reused for other roles that need it, then any assessments the role asks for. Before logging hours: ID verification through Persona, a tax form, the contract documents, the Insightful time tracker, and a background check the onboarding guide says usually takes one to two weeks. talent.docs.mercor.com/support/ai-interview, talent.docs.mercor.com/how-to/apply, talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/contracts, talent.docs.mercor.com/how-to/id-verification, talent.docs.mercor.com/working/project-onboarding
- How much work
- Hearing back after the AI interview usually takes 2 to 4 weeks. When a project ends you are not moved to a new one automatically. talent.docs.mercor.com/support/ai-interview, talent.docs.mercor.com/support/project
- Contract
- Independent contractor with Mercor.io Corporation of San Francisco, which deducts no taxes. talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/taxes-work-authorization, talent.docs.mercor.com/support/legal
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 MercorA personal account, not a promise about your project
Alexruns this site and has worked on Mercor himself. Written 31 Aug 2026.
- Every interview I took used an AI interviewer. They always checked my microphone and camera and asked me to share my screen, and some included a timed exercise of around 25 minutes.
- Many later applications needed no new interview from me. With the required assessments complete and no other outstanding steps, applying could be close to one click.
- The application I checked did not ask for a rate. My offer matched my minimum in Work Preferences. That does not establish that Mercor always caps higher offers at your preference.
- Onboarding and setup came to about 4 hours, with more security and tool setup. Of the three platforms I worked on, it was the most complicated for me. That is an estimate from my projects, not a platform average.
- Mercor required the Insightful tracker on my project. I observed app and website usage monitoring, and I am unsure which screenshot settings applied, so check the configuration.
- I was paid for hours logged, once every 14 days, and I have not experienced late or incorrect payments. That was my arrangement. Mercor's current documentation describes weekly payout cycles, so check your own offer.
One person's applications, not a promise about yours.
What happens after you apply, first-handHow does the pay compare?Across Domain experts roles, not this role alone
From our own daily reads of every open listing on the platforms we follow, not from Mercor's posting. How we count.
Pay across the field: Domain experts
Across 699 roles in this field with a stated hourly rate in US dollars, on 18 platforms, the middle half pays $65 to $130 an hour at the top of the range, and the median is $100. This role's top rate, $200, is in the top quarter. Of the 260 distinct rates we count, 236 are lower and 15 are higher.
| Platform | Roles | Top of range, per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Alignerr | 149 | $24 to $200 · median $80 |
| micro1 | 136 | $28 to $400 · median $110 |
| AfterQuery | 88 | $45 to $175 · median $100 |
| Handshake AI | 79 | $30 to $300 · median $85 |
| Mercor (this platform) | 77 | $55 to $450 · median $115 |
Sources and listing historyWhere this information comes from
This listing's history
- First seen here on 27 Aug 2026, and still on Mercor's list when we last read it on 12 Oct 2026.
- Posted by Mercor
- First seen by AIPayList
- Last seen live
- Listing ID
- list_AAABoDaJyTMiOtlXq15DFq6-
Pay as the source states it: “50–200 USD HOUR”.
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.