Mechanical Engineering & Simulation Expert — Hephaestus

$70–90/hr

rate as listed

Workload: ~15h/week
Engagement: Project-based
Location: Worldwide
Field: Engineering

Create and validate mechanical engineering tasks used to evaluate AI systems in product design, CAD and simulation. The work centers on native artifacts, physically credible models, reproducible solver runs and measurable engineering checks.

Work involved

Contributors create realistic mechanical engineering problems and reference solutions in an area where they have current hands-on depth. Day-to-day work may include building native CAD geometry and assemblies, assigning materials, defining loads and boundary conditions, running structural, thermal, vibration or fluid analyses, and reviewing AI-generated artifacts for engineering errors.

Tasks require a verification method suited to the workflow. CAD work may be checked through dimensions, assembly relationships, mass properties and manufacturability, while FEA or CFD work may require mesh studies, convergence evidence, sensitivity checks and comparison with physically plausible outcomes. Relevant tools may include SolidWorks, FreeCAD, CATIA, ANSYS, CalculiX, OpenFOAM or equivalents. Contributors also package native files, solver settings, scripts, assumptions and limitations so another engineer can reproduce the result.

What the screening emphasizes

The platform is likely to probe for specific examples of owned engineering work, recent depth in at least one CAD, FEA, CFD or thermal-analysis workflow, and judgment about fidelity, material behavior, boundary conditions and numerical convergence. It may also test how you distinguish design failures from setup, solver or verification failures. Automation or result inspection using Python, MATLAB, shell scripts or comparable tools is an ideal qualification, not a requirement to know every named option.

Practical details

The listing does not specify whether the engagement is remote, whether work is asynchronous or the typical weekly hours. Candidates should be ready to state realistic availability and confirm scheduling expectations with Mercor. Pay band: $70–90/hr

What they look for

Mechanical product design, analysis, manufacturing or validation experience
Hands-on depth in at least one CAD, FEA, CFD or thermal-analysis workflow
Engineering judgment about model fidelity, materials and boundary conditions
Mesh, convergence, sensitivity and physical-consistency assessment
Reproducible artifact packaging and technical documentation
Analysis automation or result inspection with scripting tools

Included with this listing

Interview prep — 10 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: This tests whether your experience includes accountable ownership of a product design, analysis, manufacturing process or validation effort rather than participation without decision authority.
A strong answer: Use one identifiable project and state the component or system, your decisions, the constraints, the artifacts you produced and the measured or reviewed validation result. Separate your own work from the work of the wider team.
Where people lose it: Candidates lose points by describing a team project without identifying which geometry, model assumptions, release decisions or validation results they personally owned.

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