Commercial Blasting Engineer - Remote Contract
Listing checked September 15, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
Neon needs licensed blasting professionals for a remote, task-based project that red-teams frontier AI models. You will craft single-turn prompts across three labels: benign, dual-use, and adversarial, all tied to commercial blasting practice. The work hinges on the dual-use line, where a routine vibration compliance question sits close to a misuse request about magazine inventory or transport. After models respond, you score each answer against a policy standard and write the reference solution with technical reasoning. Pay is a $75 one-time fee, and the role demands sustained writing about misuse scenarios in your field.
What You'll Do6
- 1Build hard single-turn prompts that reflect real commercial blasting work, then tag each as benign, dual-use, or adversarial.
- 2Review model replies against a set policy rubric and decide if the response met the policy standard.
- 3Write reference answers that show the ideal response and explain the technical reasoning behind it.
- 4Draw a clear line between ordinary professional questions and prompts that seek misuse potential, including inventory, storage, and transport details.
- 5Document every judgment in plain language so non-specialists can follow your rationale.
- 6Keep all prompt material free of classified, export-controlled, or NDA-covered information.
Requirements7
- 1Licensed blaster or blasting engineer with work in mining, quarrying, construction, or demolition.
- 2Hands-on blast design and vibration control experience, covering timing, burden, seismograph monitoring, and regulatory limits.
- 3Daily responsibility for magazine management, inventory reconciliation, and transport of specialty materials, including signing for them.
- 4Knowledge of storage compatibility, security, and regulatory compliance for a commercial licensee.
- 5Background training, certifying, or auditing blasting crews.
- 6Red-teaming experience is a plus.
- 7Strong technical writing. Prior published research or expert witness work is a strong signal; include a sample or link.
Who Should Apply
The right candidate holds a blaster or blasting engineer license and handles specialty materials as a daily duty, not as a side task. You can separate a routine compliance question from one that fishes for diversion details, and you can explain that distinction in writing that a non-specialist understands. Generalists without hands-on magazine, transport, or vibration-control responsibility will struggle here. Two common reasons candidates score low on fit: they submit no technical writing sample, or their prompts stay too generic and miss the dual-use line. A third reason is drawing on classified, export-controlled, or NDA-covered material.
Salary Insight
$75 is a one-time fee for this task-based engagement, not an hourly rate or salary. That flat payment matches a discrete AI red-team contribution where you write prompts, judge responses, and produce reference answers. The source gives no further pay details, so any larger scope would need a separate conversation with the hiring team.
Location
Compensation
$75 fixed
Required Skills
Application Tip
Attach a technical writing sample that shows how you explain a blasting decision, such as a vibration compliance memo, blast design rationale, or expert witness report. In your application, state your license type, the specialty materials you sign for, and any red-teaming experience. If you carry NDA, classified, or export-control obligations, name them upfront so the team can scope your work.
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