The work

You sit at the intersection of two things that are rare together: real bench-level or computational depth in chemistry or biology, and the ability to write technically precise Italian. Day to day that means authoring prompts in Italian that a competent specialist in your subfield would recognise as non-trivial — a synthesis route question, a purification failure mode, a virology protocol ambiguity — and then reading what the model produces and grading it. Grading is not a thumbs-up: you annotate where the chemistry is wrong, where the answer is confidently plausible but unusable, where it is unhelpfully evasive on a benign question, and where it hands over operational detail it should have withheld.

A substantial share of this project touches chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear subject matter. That is the point — the models are being stress-tested precisely where the stakes are highest. You are expected to have settled, defensible judgment about dual-use information: the difference between explaining a mechanism and supplying a route, between hazard awareness and an operational recipe. Structured guidelines govern most classification calls, and following them accurately matters more than personal improvisation.

What the screen looks for

Mercor's process is AI-led and largely asynchronous: a résumé and credential parse, then a recorded interview that probes your subfield rather than your general science literacy. Expect follow-ups that go one layer deeper than your first answer — naming a technique is not enough, you will be asked what goes wrong with it. Italian fluency is tested in practice, not asserted; be ready to discuss your own research in Italian using correct technical register, and to explain how you handle terminology that has no settled Italian equivalent. Safety judgment is probed through scenarios rather than policy questions.

Logistics

  • Fully remote and asynchronous; work is claimed from a queue rather than scheduled in shifts.
  • Contractor engagement, hourly. Observed band for this listing is $50–54/hr — stated as posted, not guaranteed, and dependent on assessed depth and project need.
  • Start is immediate; most contributors commit 10–20 hours per week, though volume fluctuates with project phase.
  • Based in Italy or Western Europe is a preference only — applicants elsewhere are explicitly welcome.