Biology Research Scientist (BA, MS, PhD's)

About the Role

Mercor is partnering with a leading AI research organization to verify protein target assignments in large-scale bioactivity databases (ChEMBL, BindingDB). You'll read primary literature, apply scientific judgment, and determine whether UniProt IDs accurately reflect the proteins being studied — work that directly feeds AI drug discovery pipelines.

What You'll Do

• Access primary sources (papers, patents) to verify protein target assignments against UniProt records

• Flag and classify target assignment errors using a structured taxonomy

• Propose correct UniProt accessions where assignments are wrong

• Write concise, evidence-grounded notes explaining your reasoning

Requirements

• BA/BS with 5+ years, MS with 2+ years, or PhD with industry or drug discovery research experience, in pharmacology, biochemistry, molecular biology, or chemical biology at a biotech, pharma, or CRO

• Hands-on binding or functional assay experience (SPR, TR-FRET, radioligand binding, kinase assays, GPCR functional assays, IC50/Ki/KD)

• Currently bench-active in a research, scientist, or associate scientist role

• Working fluency with UniProt or adjacent workflows: SAR support, HTS, target validation, biochemical profiling, or IND-enabling studies

Nice to Have

• Direct experience with ChEMBL, BindingDB, or PubChem

• Selectivity profiling or counterscreening experience

• Familiarity with agonist/antagonist vs. activator/inhibitor distinctions

Role Details

• 10–20 hrs/week | Remote | Immediate start

• 1–2 month minimum, extension likely

• U.S. only

We consider all qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics and provide reasonable accommodations upon request.

Contract and Payment Terms

• You will be engaged as an independent contractor.
• This is a fully remote role that can be completed on your own schedule.
• Projects can be extended, shortened, or concluded early depending on needs and performance.
• Your work at Mercor will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer, client, or institution.
• Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise based on services rendered.
• Please note: We are unable to support H1-B or STEM OPT candidates at this time.

About Mercor

Mercor partners with leading AI labs and enterprises to train frontier models using human expertise. You will work on projects that focus on training and enhancing AI systems. You will be paid competitively, collaborate with leading researchers, and help shape the next generation of AI systems in your area of expertise.