---
title: 'Research Engineer - Novel AI Platforms for Multiscale Alignment at Future of Life Organizations'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/research-engineer-novel-ai-platforms-for-multiscale-alignment-future-of-life-mvv0p7r3m7bk'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Research Engineer - Novel AI Platforms for Multiscale Alignment at Future of Life Organizations

- **Company:** Future of Life Organizations
- **Location:** Remote
- **Compensation:** $140k–$210k
- **Employment:** contract
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2025-06-12
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/futureof-life/759df9eb-5611-4a42-b92d-aa199c6f2a7d

## Job description

Job Summary The Alignment of Dynamical Cognitive Systems program seeks a Research Engineer to develop novel AI platforms addressing critical alignment challenges and practical LLM agents. Combining platform development with alignment research, this role requires expertise in agent-based systems and multi-objective optimization. You'll co-design and develop systems supporting safety research, internal tools, and community resources -- creating environments to shape multi-agent dynamics and implement cooperative AI architectures with robust alignment properties. You'll also build technical infrastructure to investigate experimental AI alignment and control approaches while collaborating with researchers to bring theoretical approaches into practice. This position offers the chance to develop foundational technologies essential for promoting safety as AI capabilities rapidly advance.

## About CARMA

The Center for AI Risk Management & Alignment (CARMA) works to help society navigate the complex and potentially catastrophic risks arising from increasingly powerful AI systems. Our mission is specifically to lower the risks to humanity and the biosphere from transformative AI. We focus on grounding AI risk management in rigorous analysis, developing policy frameworks that squarely address AGI, advancing technical safety approaches, and fostering global perspectives on durable safety. Through these complementary approaches, CARMA aims to provide critical support to society for managing the outsized risks from advanced AI before they materialize. CARMA is a fiscally-sponsored project of Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation.

## Responsibilities

- Research and develop AI systems and platforms variously for: safety research, internal tooling, and safety community support
- Design and implement architectures for agent execution environments and interaction platforms
- Develop optimization algorithms for multi-objective and cooperative AI systems
- Create mechanisms for conflict resolution and preference aggregation in multi-agent settings
- Implement testing frameworks and example environments to validate theoretical approaches
- Build middleware components that facilitate secure and efficient agent communication
- Architect and develop reusable software components for AI alignment research
- Document system architectures, APIs, and implementation details
- Collaborate on technical publications and research presentations
- Contribute to both practical implementations and theoretical research in AI alignment
- Support the evaluation and refinement of research prototypes

Required Qualifications

- MS or PhD in Computer Science, AI, or related field (or equivalent experience)
- Experience with one or preferrably more of: dynamic plan recognition, activity recognition, dynamic multicriteria decision making, multi-agent systems, or AI builder platforms
- Strong programming skills in both Python and Java
- Demonstrated ability to relatively independently drive technical projects from concept to implementation
- Familiarity with techniques for AI alignment, control, safety, or related research areas
- Experience developing middleware, frameworks, or platforms
- Breadth of experience in machine learning and AI systems architecture
- Literate in semi-formal semantics
- Excellent communication skills and technical documentation abilities

## Preferred Qualifications

- Publications (formal or informal) in AI alignment, AI safety, or related research areas
- Familiarity with varied multi-objective optimization techniques
- Experience with contextual pragmatics and/or constraint satisfaction problems
- Developed novel multi-agent architectures
- Experience with LLMs and integrating them into agent architectures
- Experience with distributed systems and platform development
- Knowledge of security and privacy methods for multi-party computation
- Understanding of basic game theory and/or social choice theory concepts
- Familiarity with metacognitive systems, metareasoning, or dynamical cognitive approaches
- Demonstrable open source project contributions
- Experience building systems that actively manage trade-offs between competing objectives

CARMA/SEE is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We will not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, age, religion, gender reassignment, partnership status, maternity, or sexual orientation. We are, by policy and action, an inclusive organization and actively promote equal opportunities for all humans with the right mix of talent, knowledge, skills, attitude, and potential, so hiring is only based on individual merit for the job. Our organization operates through a fiscal sponsor whose infrastructure only supports persons authorized to work in the U.S. as employees. Candidates outside the U.S. would be engaged as independent contractors with project-focused responsibilities. Note that we are unable to sponsor visas at this time.

## About Future of Life Organizations

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a non-profit organization that works to steer transformative technologies—especially artificial intelligence—toward outcomes that benefit all life, by combining research, advocacy, grantmaking, and public outreach.
- **Entity Type**: Non‑profit (private foundation)
- **Headquarters**: Campbell, California, USA (with additional offices in Washington D.C., Brussels, Belgium, and London, UK)
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Max Tegmark, Victoria Krakovna, Anthony Aguirre

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: AI safety & governance, existential risk mitigation, technology policy, futures research
- **Target customers**: Policymakers, government institutions, academic researchers, technologists, and the general public
- **Mission**: “Steer the development of transformative technologies toward the flourishing of all life on earth.”

## Products & Services
- **Grantmaking**: Provides financial support to individuals and organizations working on projects aligned with FLI’s mission (e.g., AI safety research, governance initiatives). In 2024, grantmaking expenditures totaled $8.4 M.
- **Policy Research & Advocacy**: Produces policy papers, technical standards advice, and direct engagement with governments (e.g., US, EU, international) to strengthen governance of transformative technologies.
- **Educational Content & Podcast**: Produces a flagship podcast, op-eds, press commentary, and original multimedia content to inform public discourse on AI risks and opportunities.
- **Fellowships**: Offers PhD and Postdoctoral fellowships in Technical AI Existential Safety and US‑China AI Governance.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not applicable (non‑profit)
- **Key Metric**: Total 2024 expenditure of ~$17.4 M; income from fundraising was ~$85 k (covered by endowment)
- **Notable Donors / Partners**: Elon Musk (seed funding for first academic AI safety grant program), Vitalik Buterin (major unconditional contribution in 2021, partly serving as endowment)
- **Growth Signals**: Expanded from a volunteer‑run organization to a full‑time staff of 20+ members across four offices; continues to hire for new roles (policy, research, communications, grantmaking)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Mission‑driven focus**: Entirely dedicated to reducing existential risks from AI and other transformative technologies—a rare, single‑minded purpose that attracts top talent.
- **Independent funding**: Endowment from Vitalik Buterin ensures long‑term stability and freedom to pursue the mission without compromise.
- **Network & credibility**: Deep connections with leading AI researchers, policymakers, and philanthropists; respected voice in global AI governance discussions.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI governance**: Strengthening international frameworks and national policies for safe AI development (e.g., US‑China AI governance, EU AI Act engagement).
- **Grantmaking expansion**: Growing the community of researchers and practitioners working on extreme risks.
- **Futures program**: Using worldbuilding, scenario planning, and forecasting to identify actionable pathways toward beneficial outcomes from transformative technologies.
- **Communication**: Scaling public awareness through media, podcasts, and educational content to build broader support for AI safety.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Highly autonomous, action‑oriented, and mission‑focused—team members have creative and operational freedom to formulate and pursue projects.
- **Remote / Hybrid**: Most roles offer home‑working options; team is spread globally with physical offices in Campbell (CA), Washington DC, Brussels, and London.
- **Benefits (US employees)**: Competitive salaries benchmarked against US foundations, 4 months fully paid parental leave, work‑from‑home allowance, learning & development allowance, 24+ days paid time off, 401k pension matching, health insurance.
- **Engineering & Research Culture**: Small, high‑impact team where each person can translate ideas into tangible results; emphasis on interdisciplinary work (machine learning, policy, behavioral science, etc.).
- **Hiring Process**: Typically includes a paid work test, panel interviews, and reference checks; values exceptional talent aligned with the mission.

## Sources
1. [Future of Life Institute – Careers page on Lever](https://jobs.lever.co/futureoflife/)
2. [Future of Life Institute – About Us](https://futureoflife.org/about-us/)
3. [Future of Life Institute – Careers](https://futureoflife.org/about-us/careers/)
4. [Future of Life Institute – 2024 Annual Report (PDF)](https://futureoflife.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/FLI-2024-Annual-Report.pdf)

## Other roles at Future of Life Organizations

- [Special Projects Manager (Communications Team)](https://feeny.ai/job/special-projects-manager-communications-team-future-of-life-organizations-remote-7fwrgzmrfzan)
- [Senior Researcher, Civil Safety Sciences](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-researcher-civil-safety-sciences-future-of-life-organizations-remote-y96ks7cm2h36)
- [AI Safety Argumentation Platform Research Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-safety-argumentation-platform-research-engineer-future-of-life-organizations-1sr806s3egbs)
- [US Policy Team Member - Rolling Applications](https://feeny.ai/job/us-policy-team-member-rolling-applications-future-of-life-organizations-7fkg4jkev0aq) — Washington, DC
- [Principal, Project Development (3 Openings)](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-project-development-3-openings-future-of-life-organizations-remote-t93m0fx50myk)
- [Senior Technical Specialist, AI Risk Assessment](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-specialist-ai-risk-assessment-future-of-life-organizations-jn56g1sna5hg)
- [AI Offense-Defense Dynamics Lead Researcher](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-offense-defense-dynamics-lead-researcher-future-of-life-organizations-remote-qcg7x37mfp6v)
- [Senior Economist - Effects of Transformative AI](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-economist-effects-of-transformative-ai-future-of-life-organizations-0zk4142qr9be)
- [Communications Director and Staff Director](https://feeny.ai/job/communications-director-and-staff-director-future-of-life-organizations-remote-sy7vjk197g6z)
- [Expressions of Interest](https://feeny.ai/job/expressions-of-interest-future-of-life-organizations-remote-td9rm910w44s)