Biotechnology Expert - AI Training (Remote)
Listing checked September 16, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
Biotechnology experts join Mercor's network to create and judge training material for frontier AI models. Projects ask you to write development problems from programs you ran, covering the modality, process step, and specification a model must meet, then supply the reference answer that sets the grading bar. You also score model-written work on process development and assay development, checking scale-up assumptions, potency assay claims, and release criteria. Some tasks involve calling out proposals that look defensible yet would fail a developability assessment because of manufacturability, stability, or regulatory limits. The listing stays open as a standing pool, so work arrives when a client project matches your background.
What You'll Do7
- 1Build development problems from your own programs, naming the modality, the process step, and the specification the work had to satisfy.
- 2Write reference answers that graders use to evaluate a model's attempt at each problem.
- 3Review model answers for process development and assay development, testing whether scale-up assumptions hold.
- 4Check whether a potency assay measures the attribute it claims and whether release criteria have justification.
- 5Identify proposals that pass a scientific review but would stumble in a developability assessment due to manufacturability, stability, or regulatory acceptance.
- 6Explain your reasoning in writing so model outputs can be compared against expert judgment.
- 7Flag instructions that lack clarity or leave key context missing.
Requirements5
- 1Professional or research background in biotechnology, bioprocess, or therapeutic development.
- 2Experience taking a program through real development decisions and the ability to explain the reasoning behind each choice.
- 3Strong written communication for tasks that require detailed reasoning.
- 4Comfort working on ambiguous prompts and the judgment to flag unclear instructions.
- 5No specific degree or institution requirement; your development experience carries more weight.
Who Should Apply
Biotech scientists with hands-on program experience fit this pool best. You might come from bioprocess, assay development, or therapeutic development and have made calls on modality, scale-up, release criteria, or regulatory strategy. The role rewards people who can write out why a decision went a certain way, not just list a result. Candidates who need a defined project, set hours, or immediate start may find this listing frustrating because it is a standing pool with no decision. Applicants also score low when they describe broad lab work without a specific program, process step, or development tradeoff they owned. Another common miss is treating the AI interview as a formality; it evaluates how you explain reasoning and handle ambiguity.
Salary Insight
Contracts in this field have paid $110 to $125 per hour. The source notes that rate is set per project by scope and depth, so a complex assay development or process development project may land at the top of that band. This range matches senior biotech scientists with program-level experience, not entry-level lab work.
Pay and demand for Machine Learning & AI roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$75/hour
This role
$110–$125/hr
Most Machine Learning & AI roles pay $55–$100 per hour. This role's pay sits above that range.
Based on 581 similar roles that publish pay · 99 publish only a top rate; those count at the rate they gave
Rates shown per hour. Yearly and monthly pay converted; one-time fees and non-USD pay are not included.
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Hiring most right now: micro1 (290) · Mercor (96) · SME Careers (68)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- python16%
- technical writing9%
- llm evaluation7%
- ai training7%
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Compensation
$110–125/hr
Required Skills
Application Tip
In your resume and AI interview, name a specific program you worked on, the modality and process step involved, and one development decision you made. Quantify the outcome if possible, such as yield, titer, stability, or release criteria met. That concrete story signals the program-level judgment Mercor grades for.
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