At a Glance
- Tasks: Create political reports and forecasts based on real-time analysis of elections and polling.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking team focused on enhancing AI models with expert insights.
- Benefits: Earn up to $200/hr, enjoy flexible remote work, and contribute to impactful projects.
- Other info: Ideal for passionate analysts eager to influence political forecasting.
- Why this job: Make your mark in local politics while shaping the future of AI-driven analysis.
- Qualifications: 8+ years in political analysis with hands-on experience in US races.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 $ per year.
We are building expert-authored forecasting and research data used to evaluate and improve AI models on real political and financial analysis. Each task asks a practitioner to reason from a fixed evidence cutoff β no hindsight β and document the judgment a strong analyst would have made at that moment. This role covers political report authorship: elections, polling, and political-risk events.
What you will do:
- Author point-in-time political reports and forecasts from a stated evidence cutoff.
- Make and document directional judgments about polling, win probabilities, and market-implied odds.
- Explain the causal mechanism behind an event's expected political and market impact.
- Review model-generated analyses and grade them against your own standard.
Who we are looking for:
- Local political analysts with hands-on experience on specific races in swing states: current or upcoming Senate, governor, or statewide contests, or recent cycles in the same state.
- On-the-ground knowledge of the electorate, the candidates, and the local political environment, from roles such as university political scientist, state or regional pollster, state-level campaign or party analytics staff, or state political-risk analyst.
- A record of making live judgments about polling, win probabilities, or odds in those races β not retrospective commentary.
- Strong polling literacy and causal event analysis.
- Typically 8+ years of direct experience, or unusually strong evidence of equivalent performance.
Backgrounds we look at first:
- Political science departments and survey research centers at universities in the target states.
- State and regional pollsters.
- State-level campaign and party analytics teams.
- Decision desks or race-ratings outlets with state-specific coverage.
National forecasting or political-risk experience is welcome when paired with deep knowledge of a specific state. Brand-name experience is a strong first-pass signal but is not a hard requirement β direct experience and performance on the work sample determine who qualifies.
Not a fit:
- Profiles whose experience is mainly international politics, geopolitics, or country risk, with little or no work on US races.
- Analysts who have not worked on a current or recent US race in the state they would cover.
- Pure communications or journalism profiles without demonstrated forecasting, polling, or probabilistic judgment.
- Academic profiles whose work is purely theoretical, with no analysis of live races.
Point-in-time discipline:
Every task is graded on reasoning from the stated cutoff without hindsight, data leakage, confidential information, or material non-public information.
Local Politics Expert β Remote in Toronto employer: Mercor
Mercor is an exceptional employer that fosters a dynamic and innovative work culture, connecting top-tier talent with leading AI research labs. With the flexibility of remote work, employees enjoy a supportive environment that encourages professional growth and collaboration across diverse teams. The competitive compensation and the opportunity to engage in high-impact projects make Mercor a rewarding place for legal experts looking to make a meaningful contribution.