Pharmaceutical R&D Specialist for AI Model Evaluation

Role Overview

Apply your pharmaceutical R&D expertise to improve how advanced AI models reason about real drug discovery and development work. You will partner closely with an AI research and program management team, translating rigorous scientific and regulatory judgment into high-quality tasks, reference solutions, and evaluation benchmarks.

Key Responsibilities

• Review pharmaceutical knowledge-work tasks and model outputs for missing behaviors, weak reasoning, unsupported efficacy or safety claims, and conclusions that would not meet scientific or regulatory scrutiny.
• Write detailed instruction specifications and golden solutions for drug discovery and development problems.
• Create industry-representative tasks, challenging evaluation sets, and benchmarks that measure meaningful model improvement.
• Help develop domain-specific skills and tools with the research team.
• Collaborate with researchers and adjacent-field specialists to calibrate standards and turn tacit development judgment into clear, teachable criteria.

Qualifications

• PhD or PharmD in a relevant discipline, such as medicinal or organic chemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology, pharmaceutical sciences, or toxicology. An MD with substantial drug development experience also qualifies.
• At least 4 years of substantive pharmaceutical or biotechnology R&D experience with a pharmaceutical company, biotechnology company, contract research organization, or translational research institute.
• Specialization in at least one drug-development stage, including target identification and validation, medicinal chemistry and lead optimization, preclinical pharmacology and toxicology, translational and biomarker science, clinical development, or regulatory affairs and CMC.
• Demonstrated progression to a senior role, such as Senior Scientist, Principal Scientist, Director of Research, or VP-level R&D leader, with ownership of a discovery project or development program.
• Peer-reviewed publications, granted patents, or contributions to programs that reached the clinic are strongly preferred.
• Hands-on professional use of large language models and the ability to distinguish well-reasoned work from plausible but incorrect answers.
• Excellent written communication and the ability to provide precise, well-structured feedback.

Work Terms

• Full-time W-2 employment, working within a client research team using client-issued accounts and equipment.
• Hybrid role based in the Bay Area, California, with on-site work multiple days each week when required.
• You must live in the Bay Area before the engagement begins, or relocate there at your own expense. Relocation assistance is not provided.
• Reliable commitment of 40 hours per week for an initial 6-month engagement.

Compensation

$75 to $115 per hour.

Application Process

This opportunity may be discovered through a hiring platform. Employment, onboarding, payroll, benefits, and compliance are administered through the employer of record.

Equal Opportunity

Qualified applicants will be considered without discrimination based on legally protected characteristics. Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans throughout the application process.