Synthetic / Process Chemist - Remote Task-Based
Listing checked September 15, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
A panel of process chemistry and synthetic chemistry experts is forming to red-team frontier AI models in a task-based remote engagement. The group checks whether a model can separate legitimate technical questions from dangerous ones, with prompts and answers sorted as benign, dual-use, or adversarial. You will write single-turn prompts, judge model responses against a policy standard, and draft reference answers that include the technical reasoning. The domain sits on the dual-use line: the same scale-up knowledge that turns a medicine into a product can also support a controlled compound, and an impurity control profile can reveal how a substance was made. Pay is a one-time $75 fee.
What You'll Do7
- 1Write single-turn chemistry prompts that test misuse potential in your domain.
- 2Label every prompt by its misuse tier: benign, dual-use, or adversarial.
- 3Review model responses against the provided policy standard.
- 4Decide whether each answer met the policy standard.
- 5Draft reference responses that show what a correct answer contains.
- 6Explain the technical reasoning behind each reference answer in language a non-specialist can follow.
- 7Flag any refusal of routine scale-up or kinetics questions as a model failure.
Requirements10
- 1Hands-on experience running synthetic routes and scaling them from bench to pilot to plant.
- 2Process chemistry background in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, or fine chemicals.
- 3Knowledge of reaction engineering, kinetics, impurity control, and process development.
- 4Ability to tell a routine professional question from one that seeks dangerous detail.
- 5Experience with precursor sourcing, controlled-substance registration, or regulatory chemistry.
- 6Method development and troubleshooting in a GMP or equivalent quality environment.
- 7Technical writing, published research, or expert witness experience, with a sample or link.
- 8Red-teaming experience preferred.
- 9Comfort reading and writing about misuse scenarios for sustained periods.
- 10Must not draw on classified, export-controlled, NDA-covered, or prepublication-review material.
Who Should Apply
The candidate who fits best has run synthetic routes and scaled them from bench to pilot to plant, can explain why a question is ordinary process chemistry or a misuse attempt, and writes clear rationales for each call. Chemists from pharmaceutical, agrochemical, or fine chemicals settings do well here, if they bring red-teaming, technical writing, published research, or expert witness work. This assignment suits people who accept sustained reading and writing about misuse scenarios. Generalists who have not owned route design or process work will find this role a poor match. Candidates score low when they send no writing sample or link, when they cannot point to specific scale-up stages, or when they ignore the rule against using classified, export-controlled, NDA-covered, or prepublication material.
Salary Insight
The source lists a one-time $75 payment for this task. It does not give an hourly rate, salary, or multi-task budget, so treat $75 as a flat fee for a single deliverable. That amount matches a small expert contribution rather than a full contract or recurring role.
Pay and demand for Chemical & Process Engineering roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$85/hour
This role
$75 fixed
Most Chemical & Process Engineering roles pay $80–$100 per hour.
Based on 17 similar roles that publish pay · 3 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
- 22
- Listed in last 30 days
- 12
- Remote
- 95%
Hiring most right now: micro1 (7) · Neon (4) · Mercor (3)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- chemistry36%
- technical writing32%
- red-teaming23%
- chemical engineering23%
Figures from Chemical & Process Engineering roles live on NearSkill when this page loaded. A role can close before you apply, so check the listing itself.
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Compensation
$75 fixed
Required Skills
Application Tip
Attach a writing sample or link that shows you can explain a chemistry judgment to a non-specialist. Name the exact routes, scale-up stages (bench, pilot, plant), and quality settings you have worked in, such as GMP, impurity control, or kinetics. If you have red-teaming experience, describe the prompt types you wrote or judged.
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