Remote Substance Use - Adolescent Addiction Specialist — AI Research & Domain Evaluation

Join ZR Talent Group's remote specialist network as a Remote Substance Use - Adolescent Addiction Specialist — AI Research & Domain Evaluation earning $45 - $95/hour. Working asynchronously from anywhere in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, or South Africa, you will apply your practical background in Clinical reasoning, Child/Adolescent Clinical Safety expertise, Clinical risk assessment, Severity staging to benchmark frontier artificial intelligence models, identify failure modes, and elevate domain-specific accuracy.

Prior experience building machine learning systems is not required—our research partners value authentic practitioner judgment, domain rigor, and clear analytical writing.

Key Responsibilities & Deliverables

• Review clinical case material describing adolescent substance use and document thorough assessments of risk, severity, and intervention urgency.
• Apply established frameworks such as DSM-5 SUD and ASAM to stage severity and recommend an appropriate level of care.
• Evaluate the safety and clinical appropriateness of both proposed and alternative interventions, including pharmacological options when relevant.
• Distinguish between developmentally normal experimentation and clinically significant patterns of substance use in youth.
• Identify and flag withdrawal, overdose, and safeguarding risks that require escalation or immediate action.
• Develop written guidance that is actionable for non-specialists, clearly explaining the rationale and referencing relevant standards or guidelines.
• Compare and benchmark your assessments against peer input and published best practice to ensure consistency and rigor.

Required Qualifications & Technical Criteria

• Demonstrated professional or advanced academic background in Clinical reasoning, Child/Adolescent Clinical Safety expertise, Clinical risk assessment, Severity staging.
• Strong analytical writing and critical evaluation skills in English.
• Self-directed work ethic suited for an asynchronous, 100% remote research environment.

Preferred Experience & Bonus Attributes

• 3–5+ years of post-certification experience working directly with adolescents impacted by substance use.
• Clinical specialty in addiction medicine, or child/adolescent psychiatry or psychology with a primary focus on substance use disorders.
• Active clinical license/registration in good standing, with recent (<2 years) adolescent caseload experience.
• Proficiency with adolescent substance use screening and severity staging tools (e.g., CRAFFT, S2BI, DSM-5, ASAM criteria).
• Working knowledge of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD/MAT) and withdrawal management protocols for under-18s.
• Research-standard written English (native, or IELTS 7.5+ overall/writing 7.0+, TOEFL 100+, Cambridge C1–C2, or equivalent).
• Motivational interviewing training, adolescent inpatient/crisis experience, and/or history of developing guidelines or publications in youth SUD (nice to have).
• Start Timeline & Availability
• We typically fill roles within 48 hours and are looking for experts ready to jump in right away. If selected, we expect you to start your first tasks within 24 – 48 hours of completing onboarding.

Compensation, Remote Eligibility & Schedule

• Compensation Band: $45 - $95/hour
• Work Model: 100% Remote / Work From Home with flexible asynchronous scheduling
• Eligible Remote Locations: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa
• Current Openings: 3 active specialist positions
• Hiring Organization: ZR Talent Group
• Core Skills & Technologies: Clinical reasoning, Child/Adolescent Clinical Safety expertise, Clinical risk assessment, Severity staging, Intervention judgment