MercorDomain experts
Molecular Biology Experts - US
up to $105/hr
About this role, in Mercor's words
Join a leading AI lab's cutting-edge GenAI team to be at the core of the AI revolution, where your expertise fuels the development of the most advanced AI models.
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 ↗
Join a leading AI lab's cutting-edge GenAI team to be at the core of the AI revolution, where your expertise fuels the development of the most advanced AI models.
1. Overview
Join a leading AI lab's cutting-edge GenAI team and help build foundational AI models from the ground up. We're looking for Molecular Biology subject-matter experts (SMEs) who have designed DNA and RNA sequences themselves, including primers, plasmids, guide RNAs, mRNA constructs and repair templates, and who can bring that depth to the quality of our AI training data.
This is a W-2 employment position with Cincinnatus LLC, with the opportunity to be placed at a leading AI Lab as part of their extended workforce.
2. Key Responsibilities
• Work with research and engineering teams to find where a model's molecular biology reasoning breaks down, and help close those gaps.
• Design hard, domain-relevant tasks and write the accurate, well documented solutions that become ground truth. That spans primers for PCR, qPCR and cloning, plasmids and expression vectors, gRNA and sgRNA for CRISPR editing, mRNA and RNA constructs, and HDR or repair templates.
• Review molecular biology tasks and model outputs against expert-quality solutions, and give clear written feedback on correctness, rigor and biological reasoning.
• Write the guidelines and rubrics used to judge sequence design quality, covering guide and target selection, homology arm length, primer melting temperature and specificity, codon optimization, and regulatory elements.
• Work alongside other subject matter experts so the training data stays consistent and accurate.
3. Core Qualifications
• An advanced degree, PhD strongly preferred, in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, synthetic biology, bioengineering or a related life science field.
• Hands-on experience designing nucleic acid constructs before the experiment runs, across several of primers, plasmids and vectors, gRNA and sgRNA, mRNA, and HDR or repair templates, together with the cloning strategy behind them (Gibson, Golden Gate, Gateway, restriction) and codon optimization.
• A strong peer-reviewed publication record, weighted toward first-author work in notable venues such as Nature and the Nature family, Cell, eLife, Nucleic Acids Research, PNAS and EMBO Journal. Please include links to your publications when you apply.
• Clear career progression.
• You can commit reliably to at least 20 hours a week on weekdays.
• Previous work in AI training, model evaluation or data annotation is a plus.
• Strong written communication, and the ability to explain the reasoning behind a design choice clearly and precisely.
About Cincinnatus LLC: Cincinnatus LLC is an enterprise staffing company that partners with leading technology companies to source and employ highly skilled professionals for contingent and contract-based opportunities. Cincinnatus serves as the employer of record for these engagements, providing W-2 employment, payroll, benefits, and compliance, while placing employees directly within client teams to work on high-impact initiatives.
Equal Employment Opportunity: Cincinnatus is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or any other legally protected characteristic.
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 692 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, $105, is in the middle half. Of the 259 distinct rates we count, 150 are lower and 102 are higher.
| Platform | Roles | Top of range, per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Alignerr | 149 | $24 to $200 · median $80 |
| micro1 | 130 | $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 $120 |
Sources and listing historyWhere this information comes from
This listing's history
- First seen here on 11 Sep 2026, and still on Mercor's list when we last read it on 13 Oct 2026.
- The listed pay has not changed since then.
- Posted by Mercor
- First seen by AIPayList
- Last seen live
- Listing ID
- list_AAABoJEZsx-GA2FkHqpMwZV9
Pay as the source states it: “70–105 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.