Materials Science Domain Expert

About OpenTrain
OpenTrain is the centralized, open platform where AI training and data-labeling freelancers find work, consolidate opportunities across platforms, and build a unified AI training portfolio they control. We make specialized AI training work easier to track, apply for, and grow into a durable freelance career.

About this role
OpenTrain is recruiting for a Materials Science Domain Expert to work directly with a leading AI lab's research and program management teams, improving how frontier AI models reason about real materials science and materials engineering work. You will review the quality of materials knowledge work tasks and model outputs, write instruction specs and golden solutions, and design benchmarks that measure genuine improvement. This hybrid role is based in the Bay Area, California, and requires on-site presence multiple days per week. The position is full-time (40 hours per week) for an initial engagement of 6 months, with a competitive hourly rate of $70‑$110.

What you will do
- Vet the quality of materials science knowledge work tasks and model outputs, spotting missing behaviors, thin reasoning, unsupported structure-to-property claims, and answers that sound plausible but fail technical scrutiny.
- Write high-quality instruction specs, produce golden solutions to materials problems, and define new materials tasks that reflect real-world practice.
- Design challenging materials science benchmarks and evaluation sets, and help build materials-specific skills and tools alongside the research team.
- Calibrate standards with client researchers and specialists in adjacent fields, translating tacit materials judgment into explicit, teachable criteria.

Required skills
- PhD in materials science, materials engineering, or a closely related discipline (chemistry, chemical engineering, applied physics, metallurgy). A master's degree with exceptional industrial depth may be considered.
- 4+ years of substantive research or industrial R&D experience in materials at a research university, national laboratory, or industrial research organization.
- Genuine specialization in at least one area (e.g., energy storage, semiconductors, polymers, structural alloys, computational materials).
- Senior-level career progression with real ownership of research direction.
- Hands-on working use of large language models in professional work, with judgment to distinguish well-reasoned answers from plausible-sounding wrong ones.
- Excellent written communication and the ability to give precise, well-structured written feedback.
- Peer-reviewed publications, granted patents, or shipped materials programs strongly preferred.

Helpful background
Experience in materials characterization, microscopy, computational materials, or simulation is highly valued.

Why join OpenTrain
OpenTrain connects you with high-impact AI training opportunities across multiple platforms, giving you a single hub to manage your AI training portfolio, track your earnings, and build a career shaping the next generation of AI systems. You get transparent pay, direct relationships with leading AI labs, and the flexibility to choose projects that match your expertise.