Molecular Biology Subject Matter Expert - US Remote
Listing checked September 12, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
An AI lab's GenAI group needs molecular biology subject matter experts to shape the data behind foundational models. You will work as a W-2 employee of Cincinnatus LLC while sitting on the lab's extended workforce, designing DNA and RNA constructs that test and teach model reasoning. The team wants people who have built primers, plasmids, guide RNAs, mRNA, and repair templates before, not just studied them. Your designs, written solutions, and rubrics become ground truth for judging sequence quality. Expect close work with researchers, engineers, and other SMEs.
What You'll Do5
- 1Work with research and engineering groups to find where a model's molecular biology reasoning breaks down and create fixes for those gaps.
- 2Design tough domain tasks and write accurate, well-documented solutions that become ground truth across primers for PCR, qPCR, and cloning, plasmids and expression vectors, gRNA and sgRNA for CRISPR, mRNA and RNA constructs, and HDR or repair templates.
- 3Review molecular biology tasks and model outputs against expert-quality answers, then give written feedback on correctness, rigor, and biological reasoning.
- 4Author rubrics and guidelines for judging sequence design, including guide and target selection, homology arm length, primer melting temperature and specificity, codon optimization, and regulatory elements.
- 5Collaborate with other subject matter experts to keep training data consistent and accurate.
Requirements7
- 1Advanced degree, with a PhD preferred, in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, synthetic biology, bioengineering, or a related life science field.
- 2Hands-on experience designing nucleic acid constructs before an experiment runs. This spans primers, plasmids and vectors, gRNA and sgRNA, mRNA, and HDR or repair templates, along with the cloning strategy behind them: Gibson, Golden Gate, Gateway, or restriction cloning, plus codon optimization.
- 3A peer-reviewed publication record with weight on first-author work in venues such as Nature and the Nature family, Cell, eLife, Nucleic Acids Research, PNAS, and EMBO Journal. Include publication links in your application.
- 4A career history that shows steady progression.
- 5Ability to commit to at least 20 hours a week on weekdays.
- 6Experience with AI training, model evaluation, or data annotation is a plus.
- 7Strong written communication skills and the ability to explain why a design choice works.
Who Should Apply
An ideal candidate holds a PhD in molecular biology or a related life science and has designed primers, plasmids, guide RNAs, mRNA constructs, and repair templates before running experiments. First-author papers in venues such as Nature, Cell, or Nucleic Acids Research carry weight here, and you need at least 20 weekday hours available. The role fits scientists who can write precise explanations of design choices and who want to apply that depth to AI model training. Bench researchers who only execute protocols written by others may find a poor fit, as will anyone who cannot commit the required weekday time. Applications often score low when candidates list general molecular biology skills but omit links to publications, omit cloning methods such as Gibson or Golden Gate, or fail to show sequence design work across multiple construct types.
Salary Insight
The source lists $70.00 to $105.00 per hour for this engagement. That range sits above typical academic postdoc or research associate pay and matches senior PhD-level work in nucleic acid design and AI data creation. Cincinnatus LLC employs you as a W-2 worker, so payroll, benefits, and compliance come through the staffing firm while you support the AI lab.
Pay and demand for Biotechnology roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$80/hour
This role
$70–$105/hr
Most Biotechnology roles pay $64–$99 per hour. This role's pay falls inside that range.
Based on 54 similar roles that publish pay · 5 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
- 56
- Listed in last 30 days
- 25
- Remote
- 96%
Hiring most right now: micro1 (23) · Mercor (14) · AfterQuery (6)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- biology34%
- molecular biology30%
- biochemistry29%
- genetics25%
Figures from Biotechnology 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
$70–105/hr
Required Skills
Application Tip
Before you apply, collect links to first-author papers in Nature, Cell, eLife, Nucleic Acids Research, PNAS, or EMBO Journal and add a short note on each construct class you have designed: primers for PCR, qPCR, and cloning, plasmids, gRNA, mRNA, and HDR templates. Name the cloning methods you used, such as Gibson, Golden Gate, Gateway, or restriction cloning, and state your weekday availability of at least 20 hours. Specific evidence of sequence design and written reasoning will raise your fit score more than a general list of lab techniques.
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