Research Program Manager

About Mercor Mercor’s mission is to organize human intelligence for the AI economy. We build the infrastructure that enables frontier AI labs and enterprises to train, evaluate, and improve AI on real-world professional work. More than five million experts have joined our network, and we pay out over $5 million daily for their knowledge and expertise. We built our training and evaluation infrastructure alongside the world’s leading AI labs. Now, we’re bringing those capabilities to enterprises across industries, enabling them to train, evaluate, and improve AI using their own expertise and standards. Our APEX benchmarks measure how AI performs on economically valuable work, while our enterprise evaluations and post-training capabilities turn those insights into measurable improvements across real-world workflows. Our work sits at the intersection of frontier AI, human expertise, and real-world application. We’re solving problems few companies have encountered, with the opportunity to influence what the world’s most advanced AI systems become capable of doing. We’re looking for people who bring different perspectives, take ownership, exercise sound judgment, and hold themselves to an exceptionally high standard. You’ll have the opportunity to do consequential work alongside talented colleagues who challenge one another, collaborate openly, and share a commitment to excellence. Mercor is profitable and recently raised a $750 million Series D at a $20 billion valuation. We work in person five days a week in San Francisco, New York, and London. About the Role Mercor is building benchmarks and evaluation systems that help measure and improve frontier AI models. As a Research Program Manager, you will play a central role in coordinating the development, release, and communication of these benchmarks. You’ll work across research, operations, and marketing to ensure evaluations are executed rigorously, results are shared with the broader AI community, and new benchmarks launch smoothly. This is a hands-on role that requires strong attention to detail, high-intensity problem-solving, and a passion for building scalable processes that support cutting-edge AI research. Core Responsibilities As a research program manager, you will: Design, scope, and support the creation of new benchmarks Run and monitor new evals Conceptualise and execute net new research projects Develop deep expertise in a domain of your choice, and become a trusted advisor within Mercor Build frameworks for evaluating models, auditing benchmarks, and understanding model strengths and weaknesses Support customer-facing deliveries where research taste is required Develop the messaging for new benchmarks and other releases from the team Support with marketing for benchmarks and evals, including new blogs and socials What We’re Looking For Experience : Background in academic research, applied research, or tech consulting, ideally 2-3 years of professional experience. Skills : Strong analytical and communication abilities; proven track record of managing complex projects. Mindset : Excited by “scrappy" work Compensation Base cash comp from $150K-$225k Competitive equity grant $15K relocation bonus (for moving to the Bay Area) $10K housing bonus (if you live within 0.5 miles of our office) $1.5K monthly stipend for meals $200 monthly laundry reimbursement $200 monthly personal wellness reimbursement Free Equinox membership Health, Dental, Vision insurance401(k) with company match Mercor is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing equal opportunity to all employees and applicants. Mercor does not discriminate based on actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions and lactation), gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, disability, protected medical condition as defined by California or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, California, or local laws and ordinances. Further, Mercor prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on any combination of protected characteristics. This Policy applies to all areas of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, discipline, termination, and all other privileges, terms, and conditions of employment. This Policy and the law prohibit employment discrimination against any employee or applicant based on any legally protected status.