Pharmaceutical R&D Domain Expert
Listing checked August 29, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
A leading AI lab's GenAI team needs a senior pharmaceutical R&D specialist to shape how frontier models reason about drug discovery and development. You will review the quality of pharmaceutical knowledge tasks, author instruction specs and golden solutions, and design benchmarks that track model improvement. A full-time W-2 role via Cincinnatus LLC places you with the client's research and program management teams in the Bay Area. The work is hybrid: you must live in the Bay Area and be on-site several days a week when asked. Remote-only work is not an option, and relocation is not covered.
What You'll Do5
- 1Vet pharmaceutical knowledge tasks and model outputs for missing behaviors, thin reasoning, unsupported efficacy or safety claims, and answers that would not survive scientific or regulatory scrutiny.
- 2Write high-quality instruction specs and golden solutions for drug discovery and development problems, and define new tasks that mirror real industry workflows.
- 3Design challenging pharmaceutical evaluation sets and benchmarks, and team up with researchers to build domain-specific skills and tools.
- 4Work with client researchers and specialists in adjacent fields to keep grading standards consistent, turning tacit development judgment into explicit, teachable criteria.
- 5Deliver precise written feedback that helps model developers correct weaknesses in reasoning or coverage.
Requirements8
- 1PhD or PharmD in medicinal/organic chemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology, pharmaceutical sciences, or toxicology; an MD with substantive drug development experience also qualifies.
- 24+ years of pharmaceutical or biotech R&D at a pharma company, biotech, CRO, or translational institute; purely academic research without drug development exposure is a weaker fit.
- 3Deep specialization in at least one pipeline stage: target validation, medicinal chemistry/lead optimization, preclinical pharmacology/toxicology, translational/biomarker science, clinical development, or regulatory affairs/CMC.
- 4Proven progression to a senior level, such as Senior Scientist, Principal Scientist, Director of Research, or VP R&D, with real ownership of a discovery or development program.
- 5Peer-reviewed publications, granted patents, or contributions to programs that reached the clinic (strongly preferred).
- 6Hands-on use of large language models in professional work, plus the judgment to distinguish well-reasoned answers from plausible-sounding wrong ones.
- 7Ability to commit 40 hours per week for an initial 6-month engagement and to work on-site in the Bay Area multiple days per week.
- 8Excellent written communication with precise, well-structured feedback.
Who Should Apply
The ideal candidate is a practicing pharmaceutical R&D scientist with a PhD or PharmD, 4+ years in industry, and deep expertise in one pipeline stage. You should already be using LLMs in your daily work and be able to critique model outputs against scientific and regulatory standards. If you work only in academic research with no drug development exposure, or if you are a generalist without a clear specialty, this role will not fit. Candidates often get rejected for lacking hands-on AI experience or for not being available to work on-site in the Bay Area for a 6-month commitment. Make sure your application proves both the domain depth and the AI fluency.
Salary Insight
The pay range is $75-$115 per hour, billed as a full-time W-2 role through Cincinnatus LLC. This hourly range typically matches senior PhD-level pharmaceutical R&D contractors in the Bay Area, where specialized drug development expertise commands a premium.
Location
Compensation
$75–115/hr
Required Skills
Application Tip
Show a concrete example of how you evaluate an LLM's drug development reasoning. Include a side-by-side comparison of a strong versus weak model answer and explain the scientific or regulatory criteria you used to judge it.
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