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Mercor · STEM & research

Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist - review AI outputs in your specialty

Listed on Mercor as “Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist”

$61-$77/hrRemoteContractPaid in USD
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How this rate compares

This listing

$61–$77 per hour

Typical in STEM & research

$70–$114 per hour

Within the typical range

Typical: the middle of the lowest and highest rates posted by 66 listings in this category on Seoulstart, in US dollars.

What this actually is

You design problems that stump current AI models, evaluate AI reasoning against the correct answer, write rubrics, and provide expert feedback. Often the highest-paid category because the expertise pool is small. The platform title (Applied Physics Benchmark Specialist) reflects the rate band and the expertise required, not the day-to-day work.

How Mercor picks people

  1. Upload your CV and answer the role's written questions.
  2. Do a video interview with Mercor's AI interviewer. Most take about 20 minutes, in English unless the role says otherwise.
  3. Some roles add a skills test. A test you pass once counts for similar roles.
  4. The project team reviews your results and sends offers to the people it picks.

Before you start

  • Take Mercor's free practice interview first. It does not count toward any application.
  • Use Chrome on a computer with a camera and microphone, in a quiet room.
  • You can retake an official interview up to 3 times, but hiring teams see how many times you retook it.

Not every applicant gets an offer. Prepare well for the interview.

How to prepare for the Mercor interview

Source: Mercor's help pages. talent.docs.mercor.com

Can you do this on your visa?

F-2 / F-4 / F-5 / F-6: open. E-1 to E-7: needs concurrent-employment permit. D-2 / D-4 students: S-3 permit, 20 hr/week cap. D-10 / D-8: case by case.

Korean tax on USD income

First 5 years in Korea: foreign-source income only taxed if remitted into Korea. After year 5: worldwide income. Full tax guide.

Original posting from Mercor

Role Overview

We are seeking expert physicists to author and review high-quality academic assessment content for an AI research initiative. You will write and verify rigorous multiple-choice questions across core physics domains, evaluate solution quality, and help establish gold-standard benchmarks used to advance AI capabilities.

You will be assigned one of two task types:

  • Question Authoring - Create original, challenging multiple-choice questions in your area of physics expertise, rate their difficulty, and submit them for review.
  • Question Verification - Review pre-written questions for accuracy, clarity, and rigor. Edit where needed, rate difficulty, and document any changes made.

Physics Domains Covered

Semiconductor Physics, Nanoelectronics & Spintronics, Photonics, Quantum Optics & Ultrafast, Quantum Sensing & Metrology, Plasma Physics & Fusion Energy, Nonlinear Dynamics & Turbulence, Geophysics & Reservoir Simulation.

Key Responsibilities

  • Author original physics questions that test deep conceptual understanding, not surface-level recall
  • Ensure questions are unambiguous, self-contained, and precisely defined - all necessary information must be in the problem statement
  • Rate each question's difficulty: Medium (intro undergraduate), Hard (advanced undergraduate), or Expert (post-graduate and above)
  • Provide 1 correct answer and 9 plausible but subtly incorrect alternatives that challenge expert-level solvers
  • Write step-by-step Chain-of-Thought solutions with clear, concise intermediate steps in markdown format
  • Supply 1-5 academic references per question from reputable sources (peer-reviewed journals, university repositories)
  • For verification tasks: flag issues with clarity, completeness, precision, or solvability and justify any edits made

Ideal Qualifications

  • PhD or doctoral candidate in Physics, Applied Physics, Astrophysics, or a closely related field
  • Master's degree considered for candidates with exceptional depth in a specific subdomain
  • Strong command of graduate-level physics concepts and mathematical formalism
  • Experience with rigorous academic problem design or physics olympiad writing is a strong plus
  • Excellent written English and ability to express complex ideas clearly and concisely

More About the Opportunity

  • Expected commitment: 10+ hours/week
  • Asynchronous, fully remote work

Quoted from Mercor's public listing on 2026-11-13. We don't edit platform copy; honest framing is in the title and the “what this actually is” block above.

Mercor pays MantaWork a fee if it hires you through this link. Your pay is the same.