Synthetic / Process Chemist

Mercor

. Write challenging single-turn chemistry prompts labeled benign, dual-use, or adversarial .

Posted 9/18/2026contractRemote • United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $65 - $75 per hourWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in synthetic and process chemistry, including route design, scale-up, and chemical safety. Strong technical writing skills are essential for providing clear rationales and evaluating AI model responses in the context of chemistry misuse.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Synthetic Chemistry ExpertiseProcess Chemistry ExperienceTechnical Writing AbilityScale-Up ExperienceRegulatory Chemistry Knowledge

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Synthetic Route DesignProcess ChemistryReaction EngineeringMethod DevelopmentKineticsImpurity ControlScale-Up from Bench to Pilot to PlantPrecursor SourcingControlled-Substance RegistrationGMP Quality Environment

Soft Skills

JudgmentAnalytical ThinkingCommunication

Industry Keywords

Chemical SafetyAI Model EvaluationMisuse ScenariosTechnical RationalePublished Research

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Write challenging single-turn chemistry prompts labeled benign, dual-use, or adversarial
Evaluate AI model responses against a defined policy standard
Judge whether model responses handled technical requests correctly
Write reference answers explaining what a correct response looks like and the technical reasoning behind it
Red-team frontier AI models for chemistry misuse potential
Apply practical route, scale-up, process chemistry, and chemical safety expertise to distinguish legitimate requests from dangerous ones
Provide written rationales that non-specialists can follow
Read and write about chemistry misuse scenarios while taking breaks or stepping away when needed

Requirements

What you’ll need

Synthetic / process chemistry expertise
Experience running routes and scaling them from bench to pilot to plant
Ability to distinguish routine professional chemistry questions from potentially dangerous or misuse-related requests
Experience in synthetic route design and development in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, or fine chemicals
Experience in process chemistry and reaction engineering, including optimisation, kinetics, and impurity control
Experience with scale-up from bench to pilot to plant, including associated safety reviews
Experience with precursor sourcing, controlled-substance registration, or regulatory chemistry
Experience with method development and troubleshooting in a GMP or equivalent quality environment
Strong technical writing ability; every judgment must include a rationale understandable to non-specialists
Prior technical writing, published research, or expert witness experience is a strong signal
Ability to read and write about misuse scenarios for sustained periods
Must not use classified or export-controlled information, NDA-protected information, or information subject to prepublication review obligations
LinkedIn URL required unless the applicant selects 'I don't have a LinkedIn'
Full legal name and email required for application

Benefits

Comp & perks

Earn up to $250 for each successful referral
No limit on the number of referrals
Reasonable accommodations available upon request
Ability to pause or step away from misuse-scenario work at any point without penalty