What the work involves

Most tasks fall into three shapes. You author a problem at research or olympiad level and supply both the intended solution and the reference answer a model's attempt will be graded against. You grade model-written proofs line by line — does each step follow, are the edge cases handled, does an invocation of a named theorem actually satisfy that theorem's hypotheses. And you flag the case that matters most to labs: the model lands on the correct answer through an argument that does not establish it. A plausible-sounding chain that quietly assumes what it set out to prove is the defect the client is paying to have found, and finding it requires someone who can name the exact line where the reasoning breaks.

What the platform screens for

Mercor asks for a graduate degree in mathematics or a related field, or an equivalent research or competition record. Past that, the screen is about judgment rather than pedigree: whether you can distinguish a proof from a convincing sketch and say precisely where the gap sits. Written communication carries real weight, because nearly every deliverable is an explanation someone else has to act on. So does comfort with underspecified tasks — rubrics arrive incomplete, and the expected behaviour is to flag the ambiguity rather than quietly pick an interpretation.

Logistics and what to expect

This is a standing listing, not an open seat. You apply with a resume, confirm where you work from, and complete a roughly 20-minute AI interview; after verification you sit in the mathematics pool. There is no accept or reject on this listing and no decision will come back to you. When a client project needs mathematics, matching people are invited to a specific listing that names the rate, hours, and client, and hiring happens there. That invitation can arrive within a week or several months.

  • Remote and asynchronous; project hours are set per engagement
  • Observed pay in this field has been $40–75/hr, set per project by scope and depth — not a guaranteed rate
  • Completing the domain expert interview and joining every network you qualify for both improve match odds; one signup covers all of them