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Investment Banking & M&A - Finance Domain Expert

$100–150/hrrate as listed

A full-time W-2 role (employer of record: Cincinnatus LLC) embedded with a frontier AI lab's research team, writing instruction specs, golden solutions, and benchmarks for investment banking and M&A tasks. It is hybrid in the Bay Area — on-site multiple days a week, with relocation at your own cost if you are not already local.

Summary, eligibility guidance and screening preparation are prepared by Sidequest from the platform's posting. Check the source listing before applying.

What the work involves

You are the finance substance behind model training data. Day to day, that means reviewing finance knowledge-work tasks and model outputs for thin reasoning, unstated assumptions, and answers that read fluently but would not survive a VP's markup — then writing the instruction specs and golden solutions that define what correct actually looks like. Expect to build new task types drawn from real deal work: accretion/dilution and merger models, DCF and comps construction, sources and uses, purchase price allocation, synergy phasing, CIM and fairness-opinion analysis, LBO sensitivities. You will also design evaluation sets and benchmarks that show whether the model is genuinely improving rather than getting better at sounding right, and calibrate with researchers and adjacent-domain specialists so standards stay consistent.

What the platform screens for

Verifiable depth, not exposure. Five or more years of dedicated finance experience at a recognized institution, with clear progression to senior IC or leadership (VP, Director, Principal, MD). Roles that touch finance peripherally will not clear the screen.
A specific discipline you can be pressed on. Interviewers will follow up on mechanics — how you'd treat a particular NOL carryforward, why a comp set is defensible, where a model breaks under an assumption change.
Evaluation judgment. Can you articulate tacit judgment as explicit, teachable criteria? Can you distinguish a well-reasoned wrong answer from a plausible-sounding one?
Credentials. An advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD in finance, economics, accounting, or a quantitative field) and/or CFA, CPA, FRM, or actuarial designation is strongly preferred.
Hands-on LLM use in your own professional work, and precise written communication.

Logistics, stated plainly

This is not remote and not project-based. It is a hybrid, Bay Area–based, full-time position at 40 hours per week for an initial six-month engagement, with on-site days at the client's offices when required. You must already live in the Bay Area or be willing to relocate at your own expense — relocation assistance is not provided. You will work inside the client's tools on client-issued accounts and equipment. Employment, payroll, benefits, and compliance are administered by Cincinnatus LLC as employer of record; the opportunity is discovered through Mercor. The $100–150/hr band reflects rates observed for senior finance expert roles sourced through this platform and is not a guarantee — actual compensation depends on the client, your seniority, and the final structure of the engagement.

What they look for

5+ years dedicated finance experience at a recognized institution, with investment banking or M&A specialization
Seniority at VP/Director/Principal/MD level with real ownership of analysis and decisions
Deep technical fluency in merger models, accretion/dilution, DCF, comps, and LBO analysis
Advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD) and/or CFA, CPA, or FRM credential
Hands-on professional use of large language models and the judgment to spot plausible-but-wrong reasoning
Precise, well-structured written communication for specs and reviewer feedback

Before you apply

Would you pass this screen?

Drawn from what this listing actually requires. Answered in your browser — nothing is sent to us, and we do not store your answers.

Do you have at least 5 years of dedicated professional finance experience at an investment bank, asset manager, private equity or credit fund, Big Four firm, large corporate finance function, or financial regulator?
5+ years substantive finance experience at recognized institution · required
Do you hold an MBA, MS, or PhD in finance, economics, accounting, or a quantitative field, and/or a recognized professional credential such as CFA, CPA, FRM, or an actuarial designation?
Advanced degree or professional credential · preferred
Have you held a position at the level of Vice President, Director, Principal, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Controller, or equivalent or higher, with demonstrated ownership of financial analysis and decisions?
Senior-level role with real decision-making authority · required
Do you currently live in the Bay Area, California, and are you able to work on-site with the client's team multiple days per week as required?
Currently living in Bay Area, California · required
Do you have hands-on experience using large language models (such as ChatGPT, Claude, or similar) in your professional finance work, and the judgment to assess when their outputs are sound versus plausibly wrong?
Hands-on use of large language models · preferred
Are you able to commit reliably to 40 hours per week for an initial 6-month engagement, beginning before [start date]?
Commitment to 40-hour weekly engagement for 6 months · required

0 of 6 answered

Included with this listing

Interview prep — 11 questions

Matched to what this platform's screening actually measures. Answer each out loud in 60–90 seconds: claim → concrete example → implication.

What it tests: Whether the candidate has genuine senior-level ownership of substantive finance work, not peripheral involvement. Can they articulate real decision-making authority and the reasoning behind a complex financial judgment.
A strong answer: The answer names a specific, material transaction or decision (not hypothetical), explains their direct analytical role (modeling, due diligence, valuation, negotiation), describes the financial reasoning they applied, and shows how their work affected the final decision or terms — demonstrating they were not a supporting player.
Where people lose it: Describing themselves as part of a team without claiming ownership of any particular analysis; recounting a deal without explaining what financial work they actually did; naming a role title but not a concrete example; or pivoting to generic process descriptions instead of their own judgment.