Research Operations, Code
Mercor · San Francisco
Extracted from the posting
Research operations role owning multi-million-dollar data programs end to end for frontier coding models. Responsibilities include designing human-expert, synthetic, and model-in-the-loop data pipelines and managing relationships with lab researchers. Requires a technical degree, 2+ years of software or forward-deployed engineering experience, and strong analytical skills.
About Mercor
Mercor's mission is to organize human intelligence to power the AI economy. We're a leading AI data company, building the layer between human expertise and frontier models. Millions of domain experts on the platform are paid over $4 million per day to train frontier AI models. Mercor's APEX benchmark family measures AI's real-world impact on professional work. Mercor Enterprise brings this same infrastructure to Fortune 500 companies: helping companies capture how their best people actually work, translating that expertise directly back into agents.
Mercor is creating a new category of work where expertise powers AI advancement. Achieving this requires an ambitious, fast-paced and deeply committed team. You’ll work alongside researchers, operators, and AI companies at the forefront of shaping the systems that are redefining society. Mercor is a profitable Series C company valued at $10 billion. We work in-person five days a week in our San Francisco, NYC, or London offices.
About the Role
In the Research Operations role at Mercor, you will work at the intersection of engineering and applied AI research. This role will own multi-million-dollar data programs end to end with responsibilities to:
- Reason about opportunities for frontier coding models, and translate that into the data that will make it stronger.
- Shape how data gets produced, including human-expert workflows, synthetic generation pipelines, and model-in-the-loop systems.
- Turn designs into scaled, high-quality data pipelines and own deliveries to customers.
- Build deep relationships with lab researchers and become the person they trust to tell them what data they actually need.
What We're Looking For
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a STEM field, or an equivalent technical discipline.
- At least two years of experience in software development or a forward deployed engineering role.
- A track record of running complex, high-stakes projects end to end, and genuine energy for large-scale execution and gritty process optimization under pressure.
- Strong analytical and communication skills; comfortable owning high-profile relationships with technical customers.
Nice To Have
- Experience designing scalable data or automation pipelines
- Research fluency: connecting model/benchmark literature to what data would move a frontier model; having created a benchmark or published analysis of model behavior.
- Backgrounds that often fit: data scientists, software engineers, or forward deployed engineers who love operating, technical PMs, research engineers, or strong generalist operators with real technical range. Backgrounds from consulting, finance, or high-growth startups can work if paired with real technical fluency.
Benefits
- Bi-annual performance bonus structure
- Generous equity grant vested over 4 years
- Up to $15k Relocation bonus
- $10K proximity bonus (if you live within 0.5 miles of our office)
- $1.5K monthly stipend for meals
- Free Equinox membership
- $200 monthly laundry reimbursement
- $200 monthly personal wellness reimbursement
- Health, Dental, Vision insurance
Compensation: $130K - $250K
Company stack
This posting doesn’t list technologies. These are the ones Mercor uses across its other roles.
