Earth, Ocean & Climate Science Researcher (Task Author)
About the role
From AfterQuery’s listing.
Pay: $100/hour
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.
Who can apply
The listing only says “Remote”. That doesn’t mean worldwide. Check country eligibility on AfterQuery before you spend time on it.
How AfterQuery screens people
- 01Apply to the listing for your field.
- 02Expect a screening task that looks like the real work.
Before you apply
- No real platform charges you to apply or to “unlock” work.
- Apply to two or three platforms, not one. Acceptance is never certain.
- It’s contract work in projects. Hours vary week to week.