Earth, Ocean & Climate Science Researcher (Task Author)
$200 per year
Key Skills
Job Description
Turn computational work from your own earth, ocean, or climate science research into paid evaluation tasks for AI models. Open to research-track Bachelor's students, Master's and PhD students, postdocs, and recent graduates. AfterQuery is building a network of researchers to author and validate research-grade scientific-computing tasks for AI models. A strong task is a real piece of computational work from your own research, something you've actually run and debugged: a geophysical inversion, an ocean or atmosphere model, a data-assimilation step, or a remote-sensing analysis you implemented and validated. Each task has a main problem, a few connected subproblems, a Python reference solution, and tests that check the result. The difficulty should come from the science itself, not from withheld information. We're looking for researchers in: geophysics and seismology; geodynamics; hydrology; physical oceanography and coastal dynamics; atmospheric physics and climate dynamics; numerical weather prediction and data assimilation; and geochemistry and remote sensing. Requirements Education: A Bachelor's student on a research track or with research experience (such as an REU, a thesis, or an RA or lab role), a Master's or PhD student, a postdoc, or a recent graduate in geophysics, oceanography, atmospheric science, geology, hydrology, or a closely related field. Technical: Hands-on experience writing your own code, preferably Python, to model or analyze earth, ocean, or atmospheric systems. Familiarity with Python or machine learning alone isn't enough. Work authorization: Must be able to work as an independent contractor without visa sponsorship. Students on F-1 visas (including OPT/CPT) are not eligible. Contract and pay Flexible, independent-contractor work: $200 per approved task, about 2 hours each, with no cap on how many tasks you take on. Tasks go through review, and you may also review other experts' tasks against a short rubric. All accepted experts undergo standard background and identity verification. Responsibilities Design and author original research-grade evaluation tasks based on your own computational work Specify the metrics a strong solution should be judged by, without publishing the exact passing thresholds Revise tasks based on structured review feedback until they're approved Optionally review and calibrate tasks submitted by other experts in your domain Required Qualifications Bachelor's student on a research track or with research experience, Master's or PhD student, postdoc, or recent graduate in geophysics, oceanography, atmospheric science, geology, hydrology, or a closely related field Has written their own code, preferably in Python, to model or analyze earth, ocean, or atmospheric systems Able to turn your own computational research into a well-specified task with a reference solution and tests Able to work independently and manage your own time. This is flexible, task-based work with no fixed weekly schedule Preferred Qualifications Research experience in data assimilation, ocean or atmosphere modeling, or seismic inversion Public code, a thesis, or papers that show your computational work Prior experience in data annotation, data labeling, or AI/ML evaluation work Why apply Work on your own schedule: task-based, not a fixed hourly commitment Contribute directly to how AI models are evaluated on real, expert-level scientific work Paid, flexible work: $200 per approved task (about 2 hours each), no cap on how many you take on
Core Responsibilities
Design original, research-grade AI evaluation tasks based on computational work from your own Earth, ocean, or climate science research, including reference solutions, tests, and evaluation metrics. Revise tasks in response to review feedback and optionally review or calibrate tasks submitted by other experts.
Requirements
Applicants must be research-track bachelor's students with research experience, master's or PhD students, postdocs, or recent graduates in a relevant scientific field. They must have hands-on experience writing code, preferably Python, for modeling or analyzing Earth, ocean, or atmospheric systems, and be able to work independently as a contractor without visa sponsorship.
About AfterQuery
Industry: Software Development
Company size: 51-200 employees
AfterQuery is an applied research lab curating data solutions to accelerate foundation model development.