The work

You receive AI-generated work products of the kind a research team actually ships: a thematic synthesis deck from a batch of interview transcripts, a survey findings summary, an affinity-mapping spreadsheet, a persona document, a customer feedback triage sheet. Your job is to score each against a rubric and then explain your scores in writing. The interesting failures are rarely typos. They are quotes attributed to the wrong segment, themes asserted without evidence in the source material, sample sizes reported as if they support generalization, sentiment coded inconsistently, or a recommendation slide that overshoots what the data can carry.

Expect a mix of numeric or categorical rubric scores plus a written rationale per dimension — accuracy, methodological rigor, structure, and presentation quality. Slides matter more than candidates expect: a large share of artifacts are decks, and evaluators are asked to judge layout, chart choice, labeling, and whether the narrative arc holds together, not just the underlying analysis.

What the screen looks for

Mercor's process is AI-led and interview-based. It probes whether your five-plus years are specific and verifiable: which methods you ran yourself, how many studies, what you did when findings conflicted with what stakeholders wanted to hear. It also tests evaluation judgment — given a flawed synthesis, can you separate a genuine error from a defensible stylistic choice, and can you rank severity rather than flagging everything equally? Vague answers about "driving insights" tend to end the conversation early. Advanced degrees help but do not substitute for hands-on study ownership.

Logistics

  • Remote, fully async, contract hourly work — no fixed shifts.
  • Observed pay band for this role is $80–120/hr; rates are set per engagement and not guaranteed.
  • Volume fluctuates with project demand; treat it as supplemental rather than a full-time replacement.
  • You will need working proficiency in Google Slides/PowerPoint and Sheets/Excel, since you are often editing or annotating inside the artifacts.