Materials Science Expert

About the Role

micro1 is looking for principal-level engineers, scientists and faculty to design the hard technical problems that measure what AI systems can really do. This role covers materials science. These are problems where the textbook answer is not enough and a plausible-looking solution can be quietly wrong. No prior AI experience is required.

What You'll Do

• Design difficult technical problems from your own area (structure-property relationships, processing, characterization, failure analysis, computational materials) with realistic constraints and supporting data.
• Write the correct solution and walk through the reasoning that reaches it.
• Define objective criteria for correctness so another expert would reach the same verdict.
• Review problems built by other contributors for technical accuracy and sound method.
• Flag problems that turn out to be ambiguous or ungradable instead of submitting them.

Requirements

• Master's or PhD in materials science, metallurgy, ceramics, polymer science, condensed matter physics or a closely related field.
• Principal, staff or fellow-level industry experience, or a faculty appointment at a leading university.
• Deep technical depth in at least one subdomain, with hands-on ownership of the work.
• Able to explain why an answer is correct clearly enough for another expert to verify it.
• Publications, patents or a record of technical leadership are a strong plus.

Compensation & Logistics

Pay is $80-$185 per hour in the listing text (the structured rate field shows $85-$185) as a contractor. Fully remote, flexible hours that fit alongside your current role. Selection: apply and answer the screening questions, complete the AI interview, profile review, then onboarding with the micro1 Talent Ops team.