Research Program Manager
Company websitemercor.com (Mercor, opens in new tab)
Base salary $150K to $225K
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in San Francisco, CA
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationSan Francisco, CA
- WorkplaceOn-site
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (3 h ago) · observed since
About this job
About Mercor
Mercor's mission is to organize human intelligence to power the AI economy. We're a leading AI data company, building the layer between human expertise and frontier models. Millions of domain experts on the platform are paid over $4 million per day to train frontier AI models. Mercor's APEX benchmark family measures AI's real-world impact on professional work. Mercor Enterprise brings this same infrastructure to Fortune 500 companies: helping companies capture how their best people actually work, translating that expertise directly back into agents.
Mercor is creating a new category of work where expertise powers AI advancement. Achieving this requires an ambitious, fast-paced and deeply committed team. You’ll work alongside researchers, operators, and AI companies at the forefront of shaping the systems that are redefining society. Mercor is a profitable Series C company valued at $10 billion. We work in-person five days a week in our San Francisco, NYC, or London offices.
About the Role
Mercor is building benchmarks and evaluation systems that help measure and improve frontier AI models. As a Research Program Manager, you will play a central role in coordinating the development, release, and communication of these benchmarks. You’ll work across research, operations, and marketing to ensure evaluations are executed rigorously, results are shared with the broader AI community, and new benchmarks launch smoothly. This is a hands-on role that requires strong attention to detail, high-intensity problem-solving, and a passion for building scalable processes that support cutting-edge AI research.
Core Responsibilities
As a research program manager, you will:
Design, scope, and support the creation of new benchmarks
Run and monitor new evals
Conceptualise and execute net new research projects
Develop deep expertise in a domain of your choice, and become a trusted advisor within Mercor
Build frameworks for evaluating models, auditing benchmarks, and understanding model strengths and weaknesses
Support customer-facing deliveries where research taste is required
Develop the messaging for new benchmarks and other releases from the team
Support with marketing for benchmarks and evals, including new blogs and socials
What We’re Looking For
Experience: Background in academic research, applied research, or tech consulting, ideally 2-3 years of professional experience.
Skills: Strong analytical and communication abilities; proven track record of managing complex projects.
Mindset: Excited by “scrappy" work
Compensation
Base cash comp from $150K-$225k
Competitive equity grant
$15K relocation bonus (for moving to the Bay Area)
$10K housing bonus (if you live within 0.5 miles of our office)
$1.5K monthly stipend for meals
$200 monthly laundry reimbursement
$200 monthly personal wellness reimbursement
Free Equinox membership
Health, Dental, Vision insurance401(k) with company match
Source: Mercor on Ashby · View original posting (opens in new tab)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($150,000) is above 46% of the 750 Program & Project Management roles in California listed on this site; 24 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $150,050; the middle half runs from $125,300 to $176,400.
Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 7, 2026.
This listingResearch Program Manager$150K to $225K
Enterprise AI Lead$150K to $300K
Enterprise AI Lead$150K to $300K
Revenue Operations$150K to $225K
Senior Sourcing Manager, Technology$150K to $200K
G&A Recruiter$150K to $225K
Ops Recruiter$150K to $225K
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Research Program Manager (this listing) | $150K - $225K |
| Enterprise AI Lead | $150K - $300K |
| Enterprise AI Lead | $150K - $300K |
| Revenue Operations | $150K - $225K |
| Senior Sourcing Manager, Technology | $150K - $200K |
| G&A Recruiter | $150K - $225K |
| Ops Recruiter | $150K - $225K |
Observed changes
- First observed on the employer's board
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- Advertised base range changed
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2026-03-07
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: San Francisco
USD 150,000 – 225,000 · 1 YEAR · Salary
- Method
- Structured pay field published by the employer
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The employer's job board publishes this pay as a dedicated data field. We read the field directly; no interpretation was needed.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.
