Website cmnityhire Mercor
Candidates should have substantial professional experience and genuine ownership of financial analysis, transactions, investment decisions, corporate finance or another specialised finance function.
Organisation: Mercor
Position: Investment Banking & M&A Finance Domain Expert
Location: Bay Area, California, USA
Work Mode: Hybrid – On-site multiple days per week
Employment Type: Full-Time W-2
Employer of Record: Cincinnatus LLC
Work Commitment: 40 Hours Per Week
Initial Engagement: 6 Months
Compensation: $100 – $150 per hour
Monthly Equivalent: Approximately $17,333 – $26,000 per month
Job Overview
Mercor is hiring a senior Finance Domain Expert specialising in Investment Banking and M&A to work with a leading AI lab’s research and program management teams.
This role is designed for experienced finance professionals who have deep knowledge of investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, financial analysis, valuation, transaction advisory and related financial decision-making. The selected professional will use this expertise to help improve how advanced AI models understand and perform real-world financial work.
The position combines finance expertise and artificial intelligence, with responsibilities spanning AI training data evaluation, financial reasoning assessment, benchmark development, task creation, reference-solution writing and quality assurance. The goal is to help AI systems produce financial analysis that meets the standards expected from experienced finance professionals.
This is a specialist opportunity rather than a general finance role. Candidates should have substantial professional experience and genuine ownership of financial analysis, transactions, investment decisions, corporate finance or another specialised finance function.
Key Responsibilities
Finance & AI Evaluation
- Review finance knowledge-work tasks and AI-generated financial outputs for accuracy and professional quality.
- Identify missing behaviours, weak reasoning, unsupported assumptions and financial conclusions that may appear convincing but fail professional scrutiny.
- Evaluate whether AI-generated financial analysis reflects appropriate professional judgment.
- Provide precise written feedback explaining errors, weaknesses and areas requiring improvement.
- Help establish consistent quality standards for finance-related AI evaluation.
Investment Banking & M&A
- Design challenging financial tasks based on practical investment banking and M&A workflows.
- Develop scenarios involving transaction analysis, corporate finance and financial decision-making.
- Translate practical investment banking and M&A expertise into structured AI training tasks.
- Create reference solutions demonstrating how experienced finance professionals would analyse complex financial situations.
- Help establish benchmarks that measure an AI model’s ability to reason through investment banking and M&A problems.
Benchmark & Training Data Development
- Write detailed instruction specifications for finance-related AI tasks.
- Produce high-quality “golden” solutions representing professionally correct financial reasoning.
- Design finance-specific evaluation datasets and benchmarks.
- Develop challenging tasks covering realistic financial workflows and decision-making scenarios.
- Work with research teams to identify areas where AI systems need deeper finance capabilities.
Research & Calibration
- Collaborate with AI researchers, program managers and experts from adjacent disciplines.
- Translate professional financial judgment into clear and teachable evaluation criteria.
- Participate in calibration activities to ensure consistent standards across finance-related AI evaluations.
- Help research teams understand how experienced finance professionals assess analytical quality, assumptions and conclusions.
Qualifications
- 5+ years of substantive professional finance experience at a recognised institution such as an investment bank, asset manager, private equity or credit fund, Big Four firm, large corporate finance organisation or financial regulator.
- Genuine specialisation in at least one core finance discipline, particularly investment banking and M&A, corporate finance/FP&A, asset or wealth management, private equity/private credit, quantitative finance and risk management, treasury, or accounting and audit.
- Clear progression to a senior individual-contributor or leadership position such as Vice President, Director, Principal, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Controller or CFO, with meaningful ownership of analysis and financial decisions.
- Advanced degree such as MBA, MS or PhD in finance, economics, accounting or a quantitative discipline and/or a recognised professional qualification such as CFA, CPA, FRM or actuarial designation is strongly preferred.
- Hands-on professional experience using Large Language Models (LLMs) and the ability to distinguish strong financial reasoning from plausible but incorrect AI-generated answers.
- Ability to commit reliably to 40 hours per week for an initial six-month engagement.
- Excellent written communication skills and the ability to provide precise, structured professional feedback.
- Must currently live in the Bay Area, California, or be willing to relocate there at personal expense before the engagement begins.
Core Areas of Expertise
Investment Banking | Mergers & Acquisitions | M&A Advisory | Corporate Finance | Financial Analysis | Valuation | Private Equity | Private Credit | Asset Management | Wealth Management | Risk Management | Treasury | Accounting & Audit | Financial Modelling | AI/LLM Evaluation
Work Location & Work Arrangement
This is a hybrid full-time position based in the Bay Area, California.
The role requires employees to work on-site with the client’s team multiple days per week when required. It is not a fully remote position.
Candidates who do not currently live in the Bay Area must be willing to relocate before the engagement begins. The listing states that relocation assistance is not provided. Client-issued accounts and equipment are provided for the role.
Compensation
$100 – $150 per hour
Based on the required 40 hours per week, the estimated monthly equivalent is:
$17,333 – $26,000 per month
This monthly figure is a calculated equivalent based on 40 hours per week and approximately 52 weeks per year. It is not a fixed monthly salary; actual compensation is based on the applicable hourly rate and hours worked.
Employment Details
- Full-time W-2 employment.
- Employer of record: Cincinnatus LLC.
- Initial engagement of approximately 6 months.
- 40 hours per week.
- Hybrid work arrangement in the Bay Area.
- Client-issued accounts and equipment.
- Direct collaboration with the client’s research and program teams.
Cincinnatus LLC acts as the employer of record for these positions, handling employment, payroll, benefits and compliance while placing professionals with client teams for high-impact work.
Why Join Mercor?
This opportunity offers experienced investment banking and M&A professionals the chance to apply their financial expertise to the development of advanced artificial intelligence systems.
Instead of using AI only as a productivity tool, the Finance Domain Expert will help determine how AI should reason about real financial work. The role involves creating realistic finance and M&A scenarios, developing reference answers, reviewing AI-generated financial reasoning, establishing evaluation benchmarks and helping researchers understand what constitutes high-quality professional financial analysis.
For professionals with backgrounds in investment banking, M&A advisory, private equity, corporate finance, asset management or financial risk, this role provides an opportunity to combine senior-level financial judgment with frontier AI research and training.
Ideal Candidate Profile
The strongest candidates will be senior finance professionals who have progressed beyond purely execution-focused roles and have developed substantial ownership of financial analysis and business decisions.
A suitable candidate may come from an investment bank, private equity or private credit fund, asset manager, Big Four firm, corporate finance function, financial regulator or another recognised financial institution and should be comfortable explaining complex financial concepts, assumptions, analytical approaches and professional judgment in clear written language.
Job Summary
Job Title: Investment Banking & M&A Finance Domain Expert
Company: Mercor
Experience: 5+ Years
Specialisation: Investment Banking / M&A / Finance
AI Experience: Hands-on LLM experience required
Location: Bay Area, California, USA
Work Mode: Hybrid
Employment Type: Full-Time W-2
Working Hours: 40 Hours/Week
Initial Duration: 6 Months
Compensation: $100 – $150/hour
Monthly Equivalent: $17,333 – $26,000