Federal Materials Specialist - Incident Analyst
Listing checked September 15, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
A panel of energetic materials and propulsion experts will red-team frontier AI models. The goal: test whether a model can judge misuse potential in a technical request, answering legitimate questions while refusing dangerous ones. You will write single-turn prompts labeled benign, dual-use, and adversarial, then evaluate model responses against a policy standard. For each prompt, you also write the reference answer and the technical reasoning behind it. The domain sits on the dual-use line, where routine residue analysis can look like a recipe in reverse.
What You'll Do7
- 1Write single-turn prompts in your domain and label each one benign, dual-use, or adversarial.
- 2Judge model replies against a defined policy standard and decide if each response held the line.
- 3Draft reference answers that show what a correct reply looks like and the technical reasoning behind it.
- 4Separate routine professional questions from requests that fish for misuse, using your casework as the guide.
- 5Probe the dual-use boundary where a residue signature identifies a material and also hints at its creation.
- 6Document every judgment in plain language that a non-specialist can follow.
- 7Flag any prompt or example that would draw on classified, export-controlled, or NDA-bound information.
Requirements9
- 1Federal certification as an explosives specialist, or a national equivalent, with scene and materials analysis experience.
- 2Hands-on forensic laboratory work identifying energetic materials and post-blast residues.
- 3Post-incident analysis and reporting for an agency or laboratory.
- 4Regulatory inspection of licensees and permittees, covering storage, records, and diversion indicators.
- 5Expert testimony or casework on energetic materials.
- 6Red-teaming experience is a strong plus.
- 7Technical writing, published research, or expert witness work that shows you can explain complex findings to non-specialists.
- 8Ability to write sustained analysis about misuse scenarios in your field.
- 9No reliance on classified, export-controlled, NDA-covered, or prepublication-review material.
Who Should Apply
The ideal candidate holds a federal explosives certification or national equivalent and has worked scenes, labs, and licensee inspections. You can tell a routine forensic question from one that seeks a recipe, and you back every call with a written rationale. Prior red-teaming or AI evaluation work helps, though deep domain casework matters more. This role fits less well if your knowledge of energetic materials comes from coursework alone, you have no writing sample, or you have never explained technical findings to non-specialists. Applicants get rejected when they submit classified or export-controlled details, or when they cannot show a clear line between benign and adversarial prompts in their own domain.
Salary Insight
The task pays a one-time fee of $75. That figure is a project fee, not a per-hour rate or salary, so ask how many prompts and reviews the scope covers before you commit. One-time task payments in red-team evaluation work often vary with prompt count and domain depth, and this listing does not give a per-hour equivalent.
Pay and demand for Cybersecurity roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$70/hour
This role
$75 fixed
Most Cybersecurity roles pay $50–$86 per hour.
Based on 92 similar roles that publish pay · 12 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.
- Live similar roles
- 112
- Listed in last 30 days
- 56
- Remote
- 97%
Hiring most right now: micro1 (38) · Neon (29) · Mercor (12)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- technical writing22%
- red teaming18%
- penetration testing15%
- reverse engineering14%
Figures from Cybersecurity roles live on NearSkill when this page loaded. A role can close before you apply, so check the listing itself.
Compare your resume against these rolesLocation
Compensation
$75 fixed
Required Skills
Application Tip
Attach a technical writing sample or a link to published research, and open your application with your federal certification and one concrete scene, lab, or inspection case. If you have red-teaming experience, name the model or project and describe the policy line you tested. Leave out any classified, export-controlled, or NDA-covered details, and tell the team if you hold such obligations so they can scope the task.
See NearSkill jobs more often in your search
Application & verification flow
1Instant rubric match
Your resume is scanned against this role’s requirements to check qualification fit.
2Screened before the employer sees it
Only profiles that clear screening are passed on.
3Outcome by email
We notify you at the address on your resume once the screening is reviewed.
Similar open positions
Explore active roles that match your skills and interests.
Mercor
VerifiedEnergetic Materials Red Teaming Expert (Remote)
The panel tests frontier AI models on how they handle explosive and energetic materials requests. You write single-turn prompts split into benign, dual-use, and adversarial levels, then judge model replies against a fixed policy. Your reference answers show what a sound response looks like and explain the technical reasoning behind that call. The work matters because models both refuse routine mining or investigation questions and answer dangerous requests dressed as academic work. Energetic materials, red teaming, and AI evaluation sit at the center of the task.
Mercor
VerifiedSpecialty Materials Chemist - Pyrotechnics/Propulsion
Neon seeks chemists who have formulated, synthesized, and tested energetic materials in licensed or government labs. The work supports a red-team panel that checks whether frontier AI models can separate a routine technical request from a dangerous one. You will write prompts that sit on the benign, dual-use, and adversarial lines, then judge model responses against a policy standard. Expect a writing-heavy task with room to pause, and a strict rule against using classified or export-controlled data.
Mercor
VerifiedForensic Scientist Nuclear Materials Remote
Neon is assembling a panel of nuclear forensics and safeguards practitioners to red-team frontier AI models. The job is to test whether a model can judge misuse potential: it should answer legitimate technical questions and refuse dangerous ones. You will write single-turn prompts across three labels, benign, dual-use, and adversarial, then assess model responses against a set policy standard. Each prompt also needs a reference answer that describes a sound reply and the technical reasoning behind it. Much of the challenge comes from the dual-use nature of this field, where the same signature that helps attribute a sample could also reveal what to hide.
SME Careers
VerifiedExplosives & Energetic Materials Expert (Remote)
Remote, full-time role auditing AI models for handling explosives and energetic materials questions. Classify each user prompt as benign, dual-use, or adversarial, and evaluate all three model outputs for safety and accuracy. Rank the three responses and craft the recommended final answer the model should have produced for the user query. This role blends domain expertise with AI governance to support reliable, regulation-aware model behavior.
Mercor
VerifiedPublic Safety Hazardous Device Specialist (Remote)
Neon needs public safety practitioners to red-team frontier AI models that handle dangerous technical requests. You will write single-turn prompts in the hazardous device domain, label each one as benign, dual-use, or adversarial, then judge how the model responds against a policy standard. Your day-to-day work centers on render-safe procedures, post-blast investigation, and CBRNE response, where routine professional questions sit close to misuse scenarios. Every judgment you make comes with a written rationale, including a reference answer that shows what a correct response looks like and why. The engagement runs remote and task-based, with a one-time payment of $75.
Mercor
VerifiedForensic Toxicological Chemist - AI Red Team
Mercor is assembling a panel of chemistry and chemical safety experts to red-team frontier AI models. Your core task is to write challenging single-turn prompts in your domain, labeled as benign, dual-use, or adversarial. You then evaluate the model's responses against a defined policy standard and judge whether each was handled correctly. Another key duty is writing the reference answer, including the technical reasoning for why a response is right or wrong. The dual-use nature of this field means you must tell a routine professional question from one that is fishing for harmful information. A model that refuses a legitimate identification question fails as much as one that answers a dangerous one.