---
title: 'Senior Technical Specialist, AI Risk Assessment at Future of Life Organizations'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-specialist-ai-risk-assessment-future-of-life-organizations-jn56g1sna5hg'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Senior Technical Specialist, AI Risk Assessment at Future of Life Organizations

- **Company:** Future of Life Organizations
- **Location:** Remote
- **Compensation:** $140k–$220k
- **Employment:** contract
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2025-06-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/futureof-life/a72cd411-9af3-458a-932b-16cca3ce07dd

## Job description

Position Overview We are seeking a Senior Technical Specialist to join our Comprehensive Risk Assessment team. This role combines original research in AI safety and technical governance with strong emphasis on conceptual depth and quality assurance leadership. The ideal candidate will bring methodological rigor to our assessment methods and analyses of AI risk pathways, contributing to the development of frameworks that shape industry standards and policy. You will serve as a subject matter expert bridging technical AI safety with governance approaches, enhancing team research quality while driving forward key aspects of our groundbreaking work in risk assessment methodologies for increasingly capable AI systems, all within our established strategic research program. This position is entirely remote but occasional travel is required.

## 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.

## Key Responsibilities

- Develop techniques for discovering threat models and generating risk pathway analyses that capture societal and sociotechnical dimensions
- Model multi-node risk transformation, amplification, and threshold effects propagating through social systems
- Contribute to the design of robust technical governance frameworks and assessment methodologies for catastrophic risks, including loss-of-control scenarios
- Provide strategic and tactical quality control for the team’s research, ensuring conceptual soundness and technical accuracy
- Drive or take ownership of original research projects on comprehensive risk management for advanced AI systems, aligned with the team's objectives
- Collaborate across CARMA teams to integrate risk assessment paradigms with other workstreams
- Contribute to technical standards and best practices for the evaluation, risk measurement, and risk thresholding of AI systems
- Craft persuasive communications for key stakeholders on prospective AI risk management

Required Qualifications

- 5+ years of experience in AI safety, alignment, and/or governance. We are open to candidates at different levels of seniority who can demonstrate the required depth of expertise.
- Strong understanding of multiple risk modeling approaches (causal modeling, Bayesian networks, systems dynamics, etc.)
- Experience with systemic and sociotechnical modeling of risk propagation
- Excellent analytical thinking with ability to identify subtle flaws in complex arguments
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences
- Publication record or equivalent demonstrated expertise in relevant areas
- Systems thinking approach with independent intellectual rigor
- Track record of constructive collaboration in fast-paced, intellectually demanding environments
- Comfort with uncertainty and rapidly evolving knowledge landscapes

## Preferred Qualifications

- Background in complex systems theory, control theory, cybernetics, multi-scale modeling, or dynamical systems
- Work history at AI safety research organizations, technical AI labs, policy institutions, or adjacent risk domains
- Experience with quality assurance processes for technical research
- Ability to model threshold effects, nonlinear dynamics, and emergent properties in sociotechnical systems
- Understanding of international dynamics and power differentials in AI development
- Ability to balance consideration of both acute and aggregate AI risks
- Experience with causal, Bayesian, or semi-quantitative hypergraphs for risk analysis
- Demonstrated methodical yet creative approach to framework development

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

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- [US Policy Team Member - Rolling Applications](https://feeny.ai/job/us-policy-team-member-rolling-applications-future-of-life-organizations-7fkg4jkev0aq) — Washington, DC
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- [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)