Fluid Dynamics and Convection Stability Physicist (PhD)

Listed on Mercor ↗

mercor.com

Apply

About the Role

CritPt is a public benchmark of research-level physics challenges, built to test whether frontier AI models can carry out genuine physics research reasoning rather than textbook problem solving. The benchmark paper is arXiv:2509.26574 and we recommend reading it before applying. It will tell you quickly whether this work interests you. We are engaging physicists to work on research-level physics problems in their own subfield. Depending on where your publication record fits, that can mean creating problems, solving them, reviewing completed work, or auditing it. We agree the specific assignment with you once you are matched to an area. This is research-grade work rather than volume work. Whatever you produce has to be complete enough for another specialist in your subfield to follow and verify independently, so written reasoning is part of every assignment.

What You'll Do

• Boussinesq approximation and buoyancy-driven flow
• Linear stability analysis and normal-mode perturbation expansion
• Marginal stability analysis and critical Rayleigh number determination
• Spectral eigenvalue methods
• Darcy's law and porous-medium flow

You're a Good Fit If You

• A PhD in fluid mechanics, applied mathematics, mechanical engineering or a closely related field. This is a hard requirement. Postdoctoral researchers, research scientists and junior faculty are the strongest fit. Senior PhD students with a strong first-author record are welcome to apply.
• Published work on convection stability specifically. This is the single most common reason we decline otherwise excellent researchers. Command of the methods is not enough if you have not published on the phenomenon itself.
• A verifiable publication record. Three to five representative papers with DOIs or arXiv IDs, ideally from the last five years. First author strongly preferred. A journal DOI is expected here, since much of this literature is not on arXiv. Every paper you list will be checked against the public record.
• Working proficiency with LaTeX, Python and Jupyter. Some familiarity with an agentic coding extension in VS Code is useful. Gaps there are acceptable if you declare them honestly.
• English at B2 or above, including written reasoning. A large part of the value you add is how clearly you set out your argument.
• Application steps
• Apply and complete the attached form. Basic information, education, research experience, your method self-attestation, and the areas above that you are the best fit for. For each area you select, give a DOI or arXiv ID of your own paper as proof, with your author position and the methods it demonstrates. A selection without proof is not scored.
• We verify your papers and authorship against the public record.

Role Highlights

Pay & Payout

Independent contractor engagement. Apply via the link below - Mercor handles onboarding and pays weekly via Stripe or Wise.

Common Questions

Opens Mercor in a new tab. You pay nothing; we may earn a referral fee.