MercorDomain experts
Inorganic Chemistry & Synthesis Expert
$84/hr
About this role, in Mercor's words
Mercor is seeking experienced Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Synthesis Experts to contribute to advanced AI research initiatives. In this role, you will leverage your expertise in inorganic chemistry, synthetic methodologies, and materials characterisation to evaluate complex scientific problems, assess technical accuracy, and support the development of AI systems capable of advanced scientific reasoning. This opportunity is ideal for PhD-level researchers, materials scientists, and industry professionals with hands-on experience designing, synthesising, and characterising inorganic materials.
What you'll do
Key Responsibilities
- Evaluate technically complex problems involving inorganic chemistry, solid-state chemistry, and materials synthesis.
- Review and validate AI-generated scientific explanations, synthesis pathways, and experimental methodologies.
- Assess reaction mechanisms, precursor selection, reaction conditions, phase formation, and materials stability.
Show all 7 itemsHide the other 4 in Key Responsibilities
- Develop scientifically rigorous reference answers, technical evaluations, and reasoning frameworks.
- Identify inaccuracies in chemical reasoning, proposed synthetic routes, and interpretations of experimental results.
- Apply knowledge of analytical and characterisation techniques such as XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, and thermal analysis.
- Collaborate with research teams to improve the scientific accuracy and reliability of advanced AI models.
Candidate background
Required Qualifications
- PhD in Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Solid-State Chemistry, Materials Science, or a closely related discipline. Exceptional MSc candidates with extensive research experience may be considered.
- Demonstrated experience in inorganic synthesis, solid-state reactions, solution-phase synthesis, hydrothermal/solvothermal methods, or related techniques.
- Strong understanding of crystallography, phase diagrams, chemical bonding, thermodynamics, and reaction kinetics.
- Experience interpreting experimental characterisation data and assessing scientific literature.
- Strong scientific writing, analytical reasoning, and communication skills.
- Ability to independently evaluate complex scientific problems.
Preferred Qualifications
Show all 4 itemsHide these 4 items in Preferred Qualifications
- Research experience involving catalysts, metal oxides, ceramics, semiconductors, coordination compounds, or functional inorganic materials.
- Peer-reviewed publications or patents in inorganic chemistry or materials synthesis.
- Experience bridging experimental chemistry with computational materials science.
- Prior experience evaluating scientific datasets, technical benchmarks, or AI-generated research outputs.
Quoted from selected sections of Mercor'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 Mercor's words
Posted by Mercor, reproduced here so you can judge the role before clicking. Original posting ↗
Mercor is seeking experienced Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Synthesis Experts to contribute to advanced AI research initiatives. In this role, you will leverage your expertise in inorganic chemistry, synthetic methodologies, and materials characterisation to evaluate complex scientific problems, assess technical accuracy, and support the development of AI systems capable of advanced scientific reasoning. This opportunity is ideal for PhD-level researchers, materials scientists, and industry professionals with hands-on experience designing, synthesising, and characterising inorganic materials.
Key Responsibilities
• Evaluate technically complex problems involving inorganic chemistry, solid-state chemistry, and materials synthesis.
• Review and validate AI-generated scientific explanations, synthesis pathways, and experimental methodologies.
• Assess reaction mechanisms, precursor selection, reaction conditions, phase formation, and materials stability.
• Develop scientifically rigorous reference answers, technical evaluations, and reasoning frameworks.
• Identify inaccuracies in chemical reasoning, proposed synthetic routes, and interpretations of experimental results.
• Apply knowledge of analytical and characterisation techniques such as XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, and thermal analysis.
• Collaborate with research teams to improve the scientific accuracy and reliability of advanced AI models.
Required Qualifications
• PhD in Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Solid-State Chemistry, Materials Science, or a closely related discipline. Exceptional MSc candidates with extensive research experience may be considered.
• Demonstrated experience in inorganic synthesis, solid-state reactions, solution-phase synthesis, hydrothermal/solvothermal methods, or related techniques.
• Strong understanding of crystallography, phase diagrams, chemical bonding, thermodynamics, and reaction kinetics.
• Experience interpreting experimental characterisation data and assessing scientific literature.
• Strong scientific writing, analytical reasoning, and communication skills.
• Ability to independently evaluate complex scientific problems.
Preferred Qualifications
• Research experience involving catalysts, metal oxides, ceramics, semiconductors, coordination compounds, or functional inorganic materials.
• Peer-reviewed publications or patents in inorganic chemistry or materials synthesis.
• Experience bridging experimental chemistry with computational materials science.
• Prior experience evaluating scientific datasets, technical benchmarks, or AI-generated research outputs.
Engagement Details
• Commitment: Minimum 10 hours per week, with potential for up to 40 hours per week.
Why Join Mercor?
• Apply specialised scientific expertise to cutting-edge AI research.
• Contribute to improving how advanced AI systems understand chemistry and materials science.
• Collaborate on intellectually challenging scientific problems.
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 698 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, $84, is in the middle half. Of the 260 distinct rates we count, 106 are lower and 153 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 $120 |
Sources and listing historyWhere this information comes from
This listing's history
- First seen here on 11 Oct 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_AAABoSqwAbJg5l-P-uROLKnm
Pay as the source states it: “84 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.
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