---
title: 'Business Operations Generalist at Constellation Institute'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/business-operations-generalist-constellation-institute-berkeley-g9wx7pz5dhj7'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Business Operations Generalist at Constellation Institute

- **Company:** Constellation Institute
- **Location:** Berkeley, CA
- **Compensation:** $102k–$158k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-18
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/constellation-institute/am9icG9zdDo0moI-Dl8xQprFrzNCcFXO

## Job description

## About the role

As a Business Operations Generalist, you’ll be part of the operational backbone ensuring we stay compliant, financially sound, and operationally excellent while enabling a growing team and ecosystem of people working on AI safety.

You’ll support accounting, finance, compliance, and audit processes with opportunities to lead specific areas and initiatives.Throughout, you'll build systems that scale without breaking. This role requires someone who can balance competing demands, proactively spot risks before they become problems, and is decisive when balancing compliance requirements with organizational and ecosystem needs.

You’ll be the bridge between the business operations team and the rest of Constellation, synthesizing input from many stakeholders and translating it into action. You’ll work in a community of intelligent and highly mission driven people operating at the technical frontier.

## Key Responsibilities

Accounting & Finance

- Support day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping operations, ensuring accuracy and timeliness
- Support Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable (incl. grant tracking)
- Manage inbound support requests and financial administration for programs
- Support budgeting processes, cash flow reporting, and financial planning to inform organizational decision-making
- Prepare and file Form 990 and other required tax documentation
- Support the annual nonprofit audit process from start to finish, coordinating with external auditors

Process Building & Operational Excellence

- Build, document, and continuously improve operational processes across business functions
- Create systems that increase team capacity and reduce bottlenecks
- Support organizations in our network with services, such as finance and accounting
- Make thoughtful tradeoff decisions between compliance and organizational needs, clearly communicating the reasoning

Legal & Compliance

- Support broader Business Operations team in operationalizing compliance, such as materials distribution and review

## About the level

We're open to hiring at either the Generalist or Senior Generalist level depending on the experience and background of the candidate we find. To give a sense of how we'd think about the difference:

- Generalists own their day-to-day responsibilities end-to-end, resolve support requests reliably and efficiently, and identify improvements within their areas over time.
- Senior Generalists bring greater independence to their work, taking on more ambiguous or complex problems, contributing to how systems and processes are designed, and exercising stronger judgment on higher-stakes issues.

You don't need to decide which level to apply for — we'll work that out together as part of the process.

Skills & Experience:

- 4-6 years of experience in business operations, accounting, finance, or a related field; ideally with nonprofit business experience
- Working knowledge in accounting and bookkeeping
- Experience managing or coordinating with external service providers
- Proficiency with spreadsheets, accounting software, and financial management tools (e.g. Quickbooks Online and [BILL.com](http://bill.com))

Bonus Qualifications:

- Experience with nonprofit audits and tax filings (Form 990)
- Experience working as an accountant or bookkeeper
- Experience working in organizations under 200 people, ideally across different organizational stages
- Experience leading cross-functional projects

You may be a good fit if you:

- Thrive in environments where you’re building systems while simultaneously running them
- Are reliable and organized
- Are highly conscientious and detail oriented, while also prioritizing practical organizational needs
- Are an active listener who asks clarifying questions and incorporates feedback to improve processes
- Have excellent verbal and written communication, and can adjust framing and tone depending upon the audience
- Notice when something looks off and speak up about potential risks
- Think quickly on your feet and handle sudden context changes or new tasks with flexibility
- Exercise discretion with sensitive and confidential information
- Flexible to grow in your duties with new organization-level strategic direction
- Are driven by the importance of AI safety work and excited to enable the people doing it

Note: the compensation range below spans two different job levels.

## About Constellation Institute

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Constellation Institute is a non-profit independent research center that develops talent, supports key organizations, and creates coordination space to ensure transformative AI is developed, deployed, and governed safely.
- **Entity Type**: Private (501(c)3 Nonprofit)
- **Headquarters**: Berkeley, California, United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available (likely recent, based on operational trajectory)
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: AI Safety & Security Research, Talent Development, Field Building
- **Target Customers**: Researchers, founders, and organizations working on AI safety; the broader AI safety ecosystem (nonprofits, academia, industry, government)
- **Mission/Purpose**: To ensure transformative AI is developed, deployed, and governed safely by reducing risks through talent development, supporting key players, and creating space for coordination [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/about)

## Products & Services
- **Astra Fellowship**: A fully-funded, in-person program pairing emerging researchers with senior advisors in technical safety, governance, strategy, or field-building [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Visiting Fellowship**: A lightly-structured 3–6 month funded fellowship for full-time AI safety researchers to connect with the Constellation network and work from the Berkeley research center [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Generator Residency**: A three-month, in-person residency for AI safety generalists starting in Summer 2026 [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Incubator**: Office space, operational support, and access to an expert network for the next wave of organizations working on advanced AI risks [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Research Center**: An independent research center in Berkeley, CA where exceptional researchers, forecasters, and operators collaborate on the hardest problems in AI safety and security [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/about)
- **Convening Programs**: Curated events to upskill talent, build shared understanding, and strengthen collaboration across the field [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not applicable (Nonprofit)
- **Annual Revenue**: Not publicly available (nonprofit, funded by donations/grants)
- **Total Funding**: Not disclosed (nonprofit, 501(c)3 status confirmed)
- **Headcount**: **43 employees** with a monthly headcount growth of **+18.4%** [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: No formal investors; network includes talent sourced from top AI safety organizations (Redwood Research, MATS Research, FAR.AI, GovAI, Center for AI Safety, University of Cambridge) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
- **Growth Signals**: 12 active job postings; monthly job posting growth of +20.0%; LinkedIn follower growth of +10.3% per month; workforce distributed across 5 countries (US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Poland) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Network-First Model**: Deeply embedded in the AI safety ecosystem, regularly collaborating with top researchers and thought leaders
- **Field-Building Focus**: Not just research—actively incubates new organizations and places talent in high-impact roles, creating moats through ecosystem ownership
- **Beautiful Physical Workspace**: Operates a dedicated research center in Berkeley, providing a unique collaborative environment for in-person work [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Full-Stack Support**: Covers the entire lifecycle of AI safety work—from talent identification and fellowship training to organizational incubation and scaling

## Strategic Focus
- **Current Priorities**: Scaling up the talent pipeline (Astra Fellowship, Generator Residency), incubating new organizations, and facilitating field-wide coordination. Strong emphasis on in-person collaboration at the Berkeley research center.
- **Direction for Growth**: Expanding the number of fellows and residents, broadening the range of research supported (from technical safety to policy and governance), and deepening connections across the global AI safety community [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/about)

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Mission-driven, friendly team deeply driven by the work; regular collaboration with top AI safety researchers and thought leaders [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: Not explicitly stated, but the emphasis on the "beautiful physical workspace" in Berkeley and in-person programs suggests a strong preference for on-site work; however, the workforce is distributed across 5 countries, indicating some remote flexibility [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
- **Perks**:
  - Flexible time-off policy that encourages regular recharging
  - Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
  - Generous 401(k) employer match
  - Employer-paid commuter stipend (public transportation + on-site parking)
  - Delicious, healthy lunches and dinners every weekday, plus unlimited snacks & drinks [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Hiring Process**: Transparent and respectful—phone screen, work test reflecting actual job tasks, interviews with teammates, and a focus on mission alignment [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Engineering/Hiring Focus**: Currently hiring for operations, program coordination, events, IT/data, facilities, and talent mobilization roles; strong focus on generalists and operators who care about AI safety [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)

## Sources
1. [Constellation Institute Careers Page](https://constellation.org/careers)
2. [Constellation Institute Homepage](https://constellation.org/)
3. [Constellation Institute About Page](https://constellation.org/about)
4. [Constellation Institute LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
5. [Built In Company Profile](https://builtin.com/company/constellation-institute)

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