Job description
About the job
Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, our investors include Benchmark, General Catalyst, Peter Thiel, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, and Jack Dorsey.
Position: Experimental Scientist / Engineer – Superconductors
Type:Contract
Compensation:$84/hour
Location:Remote
Role Responsibilities
Contribute deep domain expertise across superconducting material synthesis, characterisation, experimental superconductivity, fabrication, and device physics to build high-quality training and evaluation data.
Review and evaluate AI-generated scientific reasoning related to superconducting materials and phenomena, identifying experimental or theoretical errors and improving technical accuracy.
Design and solve challenging, expert-level problems involving critical temperature (Tc), critical current density (Jc), critical magnetic fields, magnetic susceptibility, electrical transport, flux pinning, vortex behaviour, and structure–property relationships.
Analyse and reason about experimental results from techniques such as XRD, SEM/TEM, SQUID/VSM magnetometry, resistivity and magnetotransport measurements, spectroscopy, and cryogenic measurements.
Rate and rank model outputs against defined scientific criteria, providing clear written reasoning grounded in experimental superconductivity.
Structure technical knowledge — including synthesis procedures, processing parameters, phase and structural data, transport measurements, magnetic measurements, and device data — into well-organised, model-ready data.
Qualifications
Must-Have
Hands-on experimental experience with one or more classes of superconducting materials, including cuprate/high-temperature superconductors, iron-based superconductors, conventional superconductors, MgB₂, REBCO/YBCO systems, or emerging superconducting materials.
Experience with superconducting material synthesis or processing, such as solid-state synthesis, single-crystal growth, powder processing, thin-film deposition, or related techniques.
Strong experience characterising superconducting properties through electrical resistivity/transport, magnetotransport, magnetic susceptibility, SQUID/VSM magnetometry, critical current measurements, critical field measurements, or cryogenic experiments.
Strong understanding of superconducting phenomena, including Tc, Jc, critical magnetic fields, Meissner effect, flux pinning, vortex dynamics, and the relationship between material structure and superconducting performance.
An advanced degree (PhD/MS) or equivalent hands-on research experience in materials science, condensed matter physics, applied physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, or a closely related field.
Clear written English and the ability to explain complex experimental results and technical reasoning concisely.
Preferred
Experience with superconducting thin films, heterostructures, or device fabrication using techniques such as PLD, MBE/epitaxy, sputtering, lithography, etching, or clean-room micro/nanofabrication.
Experience with applied superconductors or superconducting devices, such as superconducting wires and tapes, coated conductors, Josephson junctions, SQUIDs, superconducting circuits, resonators, detectors, or superconducting quantum devices.
Application Process (Takes 20–30 mins to complete)
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Originally posted on Himalayas
Who can apply
Eligible countries: United States. Accepted UTC offsets: UTC-10, UTC-9, UTC-8, UTC-7, UTC-6, UTC-5, UTC+14. Review the full description for employer-specific work authorization, residency and schedule requirements.