Explosives & Energetic Materials Engineer (AI Safety)
Listing checked November 4, 2026 · pay as published by AfterQuery
Key details
- Pay
- $150/hr
- Location
- Remote
- Job type
- contract
- Posted
- November 4, 2026
Overview
AfterQuery needs specialists in explosives and energetic materials to test how well AI models separate legitimate technical questions from harmful ones. You will write evaluation prompts, judge submissions from other experts, and document the reasoning that supports each safe or unsafe call. The work draws directly on your background in energetic materials, ordnance or defense research, and every task you approve adds another layer of judgment to a model's safety behavior. Assignments arrive on a task basis, so you set your own hours around whatever else you have running.
What You'll Do7
- Compose prompts and scenarios that sit near the line between a legitimate technical request and a dangerous one in explosives engineering.
- Assess prompts other subject matter experts submit and tag each one as safe or unsafe.
- Write the domain analysis that explains each verdict, covering what makes a request acceptable and where it crosses into harm.
- Document the technical reasoning for a borderline call so a non-specialist reviewer can follow it.
- Rework your prompts and analyses after structured reviewer feedback.
- Apply consistent standards across a batch of tasks so classification stays predictable.
- Flag cases where a prompt reveals a gap in how the model handles safety-critical questions.
Requirements5
- Citizenship in a Five Eyes country: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
- Physical presence in one of those five countries for the duration of the work.
- Master's degree or higher in chemical engineering, chemistry, mechanical engineering, or a closely related field.
- Deep knowledge of explosives or energetic materials, gained through study or professional practice.
- Ability to state the technical basis for a safety judgment in clear, precise language.
Preferred Qualifications2
- Experience with AI evaluation, red teaming, or data annotation.
- Professional background in explosives engineering, energetic materials research, ordnance, blasting, or defense research.
Who Should Apply
Chemists and engineers with graduate training in explosives or energetic materials who can defend a safety call with precise technical reasoning. Prior evaluation, red teaming or annotation work helps. Applicants must hold Five Eyes citizenship and live in that country.
Salary Insight
The listing quotes a $150/hr equivalent, settled at $85 for each approved task. That rate sits well above typical contract work for technical annotation and reflects the narrow pool of people with graduate-level explosives expertise.
Pay and demand for AI Training roles
Market estimates from live NearSkill listings — separate from this job's published terms.
This role · as published
$150/hr
Taken from the listing itself.
Typical pay · estimated
$70/hour
Median of 1,288 similar roles that publish pay · 302 publish only a top rate; those count at the rate they gave
Most AI Training roles pay $40–$95 per hour. This role's pay sits above that range.
Rates shown per hour. Yearly and monthly pay converted; one-time fees and non-USD pay are not included.
- Live similar roles
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- Listed in last 30 days
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Most requested skills · share of roles
- ai evaluation13%
- data annotation12%
- llm evaluation11%
- ai training11%
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