---
title: 'Executive Assistant at Institute of Foundation Models'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/executive-assistant-institute-of-foundation-models-sunnyvale-9bvqgat5hpvv'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-26'
---

# Executive Assistant at Institute of Foundation Models

- **Company:** Institute of Foundation Models
- **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA
- **Compensation:** $90k–$130k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-26
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/ifm-us/7e81a09a-854b-4760-a0bd-b19a835b94e6

## Job description

## About the Institute of Foundation Models

We are a dedicated research lab for building, understanding, using, and risk-managing foundation models. Our mandate is to advance research, nurture the next generation of AI builders, and drive transformative contributions to a knowledge-driven economy.

As part of our team, you’ll have the opportunity to work on the core of cutting-edge foundation model training, alongside world-class researchers, data scientists, and engineers, tackling the most fundamental and impactful challenges in AI development. You will participate in the development of groundbreaking AI solutions that have the potential to reshape entire industries. Strategic and innovative problem-solving skills will be instrumental in establishing MBZUAI as a global hub for high-performance computing in deep learning, driving impactful discoveries that inspire the next generation of AI pioneers.

Position Summary The Executive Assistant will serve as the strategic gatekeeper and day-to-day right hand to the Lab Director. In a fast-scaling frontier AI research organization, the Director's focus must remain dedicated to technical breakthroughs, model launches, and top-tier talent acquisition. This role goes beyond standard calendar management: you will optimize executive bandwidth, eliminate schedule fragmentation, act as a strategic gatekeeper for candidate pipelines, and handle high-stakes operational coordination across our global research hubs (US, Paris, and UAE).

## Key Responsibilities

High-Level Executive Support & Strategic Operations: Serve as the primary operational anchor and trusted gatekeeper for the Lab Director, carefully managing high-volume, cross-channel communications with internal teams, external partners, and key stakeholders. Anticipate needs far in advance, solving operational roadblocks before they reach the Director to ensure their time and energy remain locked onto high-priority scientific and leadership goals. Complex Calendar & Time Management (Including International Time Zones): Exercise rigorous, strategic judgment in managing a fast-moving, high-demand calendar. Protect the Director's time fiercely, resolve scheduling conflicts proactively across multiple time zones (including coordination with the UAE team), and ensure they are thoroughly briefed for every meeting, pitch, or commitment. International & UAE Team Liaison: Act as a key point of contact and primary operational bridge between the Lab Director and UAE-based team members and stakeholders. Facilitate smooth communication, align cross-border workflows, and navigate international cultural nuances with high professionalism. Advanced Travel & Logistics Management: Coordinate complex, multi-destination domestic and international travel itineraries (including seamless travel planning to and from the UAE), comprehensive agendas, and logistics, ensuring contingencies are in place for any last-minute changes. Meeting & Stakeholder Coordination: Plan, coordinate, and execute high-stakes leadership meetings, lab-wide gatherings, and strategic syncs (spanning international schedules). Draft clear agendas, compile comprehensive briefing packets, and capture accurate action items and follow-ups. Gatekeeping & Professional Communications Hub: Filter and triage incoming requests with diplomacy and discretion. Draft professional correspondence, status reports, executive summaries, and memos on behalf of the Director with absolute confidentiality. Academic Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Communications, Science, or a related field preferred (or equivalent combination of education and professional experience). Professional Experience Minimum 8–10 years of dedicated executive support experience partnering with C-suite executives, senior leaders, founders, or high-level academic/scientific lab directors in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment. Demonstrated experience managing complex international schedules, cross-border workflows, and communications across multiple time zones (specifically including seamless coordination with UAE-based teams and stakeholders). Proven track record of proactive calendar management, rigorous gatekeeping, and handling confidential information with absolute discretion and high emotional intelligence. Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with a zero-error mindset, a laser-focused resilience under pressure, and the ability to act as a proactive, independent problem solver. Proficiency in modern productivity and collaboration tools (Microsoft Office suite, advanced calendar management software, Slack, global virtual meeting ecosystems, and tracking platforms).

## Preferred Skills

Prior background, familiarity, or experience working within a scientific research, academic laboratory, technology, or advanced modeling environment. Experience navigating cross-cultural dynamics and building professional relationships within Middle Eastern / UAE business or institutional settings. Demonstrated ability to track action items and independently drive leadership-driven administrative and operational workflows to completion. Fluency in English and Mandarin (preferred).

## Benefits Include

*Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits *Bonus *401K Plan *Generous paid time off, sick leave and holidays *Paid Parental Leave *Employee Assistance Program *Life insurance and disability

## About Institute of Foundation Models

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: The Institute of Foundation Models (IFM) is a global AI research lab dedicated to the open and independent development of frontier-class foundation models, operating under the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI).
- **Entity Type**: Academic Research Institute (part of MBZUAI, a university)
- **Headquarters**: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (with labs in Sunnyvale, CA, USA and Paris, France)
- **Founded**: 2026 (launched with Silicon Valley lab)
- **Founders**: Part of MBZUAI, led by President Eric Xing

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Artificial Intelligence research, foundation model development, open-source AI
- **Target customers**: Researchers, academia, industry partners, and the global AI community (B2B/Research/Public sector)
- **Mission**: To produce the world’s leading models across modalities while ensuring responsible, open, and socially meaningful impact.

## Products & Services
For each major offering:
- **JAIS Series**: State-of-the-art open-source Arabic LLM covering Modern Standard Arabic and regional dialects, including Moroccan Arabic (Darija). Fully documented training lifecycle.
- **Vicuna**: Lightweight open chatbot surpassing 90% of ChatGPT and Bard quality.
- **K2 (K2-65B)**: Large language model with advanced reasoning capabilities, focusing on sustainable performance. Updated version soon to be released.
- **PAN World Model**: Next-gen foundation model for embodied reasoning and physical-world simulation, integrating multimodal inputs (language, video, spatial data, physical actions). Includes PAN-Agent for multimodal reasoning tasks.
- **FM For Bio – GET**: Domain-specific model for biology.
- **LLM360**: Open-source framework enhancing transparency and collaboration in LLM research, providing training code, datasets, and model checkpoints.
- **Research partnerships**: Collaboration with academia, startups, and enterprises via shared compute, co-publishing, and co-development.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not applicable (non-commercial research institute)
- **Key Metric**: Funded by MBZUAI; specific budget not publicly disclosed. Notable open-source model releases (JAIS, Vicuna, K2, PAN).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: MBZUAI, with international advisory boards and peer review processes. Partnerships with industry leaders, academic institutions, and public organizations.
- **Growth Signals**: Launch of Silicon Valley lab in Sunnyvale, CA (2026); expansion into Paris and Abu Dhabi nodes; active hiring for research interns, distributed ML engineers, HPC engineers; release of flagship models (PAN, K2 update).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Openness & transparency**: Full release of training code, datasets, and model checkpoints through LLM360 – one of the most transparent approaches in AI.
- **Global research network**: Three hubs (Abu Dhabi, Silicon Valley, Paris) combining academic rigor with startup agility.
- **Access to large-scale compute**: High-performance computing infrastructure for training frontier models.
- **Multilingual & cultural focus**: JAIS addresses underrepresentation of Arabic and other languages, preserving cultural authenticity.
- **World model innovation**: PAN differentiates from text-only models by predicting comprehensive world states for advanced reasoning and simulation.

## Strategic Focus
- Continue building open, powerful foundation models across language, vision, multimodal, and domain-specific systems.
- Expand global collaboration and talent acquisition, especially in Silicon Valley.
- Advance responsible AI with safety systems and international advisory boards.
- Drive real-world impact through partnerships in scientific discovery, human-AI interaction, and public good.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Collaborative, cutting-edge academic research environment with a mission to open-source AI for global benefit. Teams span Abu Dhabi, Paris, and Silicon Valley.
- **Remote/hybrid/office**: All listed roles are **on-site** (Sunnyvale, CA or Abu Dhabi). No remote policy indicated.
- **Notable perks**: Work with world-class researchers, access to large-scale compute, opportunity to publish and contribute to open-source models. The institute combines the agility of a startup with the resources of an established university.
- **Current openings**: AI Research Internship (LLM), Distributed Machine Learning Engineer, Eval360 Error Analysis Engineer, High Performance Computing Software Engineer (Supercomputing) – all on-site in Sunnyvale or Abu Dhabi.

## Sources
1. [ifm.ai](https://ifm.ai/)
2. [ifm.ai/about](https://ifm.ai/about/)
3. [jobs.lever.co/ifm-us](https://jobs.lever.co/ifm-us)
4. [LinkedIn – Institute of Foundation Models](https://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-of-foundation-models)
5. [MBZUAI News – Launch of IFM and Silicon Valley Lab](https://mbzuai.ac.ae/news/mbzuai-launches-institute-of-foundation-models-and-establishes-silicon-valley-ai-lab/)

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