Public Policy Specialist

About the Role

This opportunity is with Mercor, a company that connects highly skilled creative and technical professionals with AI research teams. The organization is based in San Francisco and is backed by investors such as Benchmark, General Catalyst, Peter Thiel, Adam D’Angelo, Larry Summers, and Jack Dorsey.

The position is for a Public Policy Expert working remotely on a contract basis for 15–20 hours per week. Compensation is set at $50–$60 per hour.

What You’ll Do

• Partner asynchronously with a group of subject-matter experts in a collaborative setting.
• Design policy-focused research tasks, including tracking legislation, pulling federal budget data, and searching regulatory information across government websites.
• Develop clear scoring rubrics to assess how AI agents perform.
• Work with the team to guide practical AI development using real-world policy scenarios.
• Help define rigorous, high-value problem statements that reflect your area of expertise.

Qualifications

Applicants should hold a PhD or master’s degree in Public Policy, Economics, Political Science, Public Administration, or a closely related discipline from a highly regarded university in the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, or Australia.

Ideal candidates will have prior experience using government data sources such as OpenStates, FOIA.gov, OMB, federal agency data portals, and the Congressional Research Service. A minimum of 2 years of professional experience in government, think tanks, policy research, or public-sector consulting is required. Strong attention to detail, excellent written and spoken communication, and a high level of English proficiency are also essential.

Only candidates currently located in the US, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, or Australia are eligible. The role is intended to begin in early December, and applications are reviewed continuously as they come in.

Hiring and Onboarding

The selection process includes a short interview to evaluate your domain knowledge. If selected, you will be paid for up to 1 hour of onboarding time, which covers the screening step and a few onboarding videos.

How to Apply

The application takes about 20–30 minutes and includes three steps: uploading your resume, completing an AI interview based on your resume, and submitting the form.

Support

If you need help or have questions, support is available by email. Additional platform and interview details are available in the employer’s documentation.

Additional Information

Please note that applications are reviewed every day, and candidates must complete both the AI interview and the full application flow to be considered.