Institutional Resilience Researcher

Apply by Sunday, June 28th, 23:59 Anywhere on Earth (UTC-12:00). Early applications are encouraged.

If you have any issues applying, please email careers@iaps.ai.

Key Information

• Title: Research Associate, Researcher, OR Senior Researcher - Institutional Resilience

• Salary: $60,000 - $200,000 USD annually (pre-tax)

  • Research Associate: $60,000 - $70,000

  • Researcher: $71,000 - $100,000

  • Senior Researcher: $101,000 - $200,000

• Location: remote (we are able to hire in most countries), with a preference for candidates who are based or would be willing to relocate to Washington, D.C.

• Job type: 1-year contract full time, with the possibility of extending to permanent. A permanent contract up front may also be negotiable for great candidates. We are primarily looking for researchers but are open to exceptional candidates who would prefer a more advocacy-shaped role.

• Start date: As soon as possible. We hope to make decisions by mid-July, at the earliest, but we are open to later start dates.

• Application deadline: Sunday, June 20th, 23:59 Anywhere on Earth (UTC-12:00)

• Contact: Please email careers@iaps.ai if you have any questions about logistics or the hiring process. Please email onni@iaps.ai and dave@iaps.ai for questions about the substance of the role.

About IAPS

The Institute for AI Policy and Strategy (IAPS) is a nonpartisan think tank that produces forward-looking policy research to address the implications of advanced artificial intelligence, from today’s frontier models to potential AGI and beyond. Our work equips policymakers and industry leaders to protect innovation while navigating high-magnitude risks and opportunities at the intersection of AI, national security, and geopolitics.

Our work includes:

• Conducting forward-looking policy research in areas including preparedness, information and supply chain security, and international coordination needed to navigate strategic competition with adversaries who may misuse AI.

• Cultivating policy talent — IAPS is forging a community of researchers and practitioners from across many policy areas and backgrounds to meet this critical moment.

• Providing relevant and timely insights to stakeholders across Congress, the executive branch, industry, academia, and civil society.

Follow these links to read more about our work and our team, and sign up to our newsletter.

About the Role

IAPS is piloting an Institutional Resilience team. The goal of the workstream is to develop more precise threat models around extreme concentration of power and other threats to institutions, and develop grounded policy solutions. See our pitch and project idea list for more detail.

People in research roles at IAPS generally own their own research projects, working on both deep research projects and rapid-response deliverables in response to stakeholder requests. There is significant scope to collaborate with colleagues or other organizations, and to mentor fellows.

On the Institutional Resilience team, you’d work closely with the rest of the team to build out our “full stack” understanding of the problem from a high-level understanding of what kind of outcomes to aim for and avoid, through complex policy design questions, to concrete, near-term policy proposals such as drafting proposed legislative text. We value the ability for each researcher to operate across this “full stack”, however, you may also specialize more in a particular “layer.”

While we are primarily looking for researchers, we are open to receiving applications from exceptional candidates who would prefer advocacy-shaped roles.

What We Are Looking For

Skills and competencies

A wide range of skills and domain expertise can be relevant to the work. Ultimately the area is relatively under-explored and rapidly evolving, so the ability to quickly come to grips with new, complex domains, and find the right sources of information, is the most important skill here.

An ability to write quickly, clearly, and with high reasoning transparency is also always important.

Specific areas of expertise that would be valuable include:

• Legal expertise on:

  • Constitutional law

  • Administrative law

  • National security law

  • Antitrust law

• Technical governance topics such as structured transparency and verification.

• Technical AI safety topics related to, e.g., the feasibility and stability of secret loyalties

• Democratic backsliding

• General AI safety policy (to assess how AI safety policies trade off between concentration of power risks and other risks)

• Epistemic and coordination technologies

• AI strategy and macrostrategy

• Economic expertise related to e.g. understanding labor impacts and modeling competition between AI firms.

What We Offer

Compensation

• Annual salary within the following ranges for a full-time position, prorated for part-time work: $60,000 - $200,000 USD annually (pre-tax)

  • Research Associate: $61,000 - $70,000 USD

  • Researcher: $71,000 - $100,000 USD

  • Senior Researcher: $101,000 - $200,000 USD

• We are open to hiring across a range of seniority levels; there is scope for the title to be Research Associate, Researcher, or Senior Researcher.

• Compensation is paid in your local currency. For example, if you are a UK resident, we would pay the equivalent to the amounts above but in GBP. We use a set methodology to determine conversion rates, which are reviewed regularly.

• The exact salary will be based on the candidate’s prior relevant experience and location (candidates in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and London will receive relatively higher salaries).

Other Benefits

• Comprehensive global benefits package, including statutory benefits specific to a local country,

• Generous paid time off (PTO), prorated to the contract duration, and unpaid leave, including:

  • Statutory paid and unpaid leave (as applicable)

    • (If offered a permanent role) Parental leave: up to 6-9 months of a combination of paid and unpaid leave that can be taken within the first 2 years after a child’s birth or adoption.

  • Unlimited (within reason) personal and sick paid and unpaid leave

  • Mid- and end-year, organization-wide breaks (if the employment contract falls within the break timeline)

• Annual technology stipend equivalent to $670 USD for purchasing work and office equipment (if offered a permanent role, this amount would be increased to $2,000 USD that renews every 3 years)

• Annual team retreat and other potential opportunities for paid travel.

• We encourage proactive professional development and offer learning opportunities, including workshops

Logistics and Additional Information

• Location: This role is fully remote, with a preference for candidates who are based or would be willing to relocate to Washington, D.C. We are able to legally hire in most countries. However, we offer a 10% location bonus for candidates based in Washington D.C. and San Francisco, and a 5% location bonus for candidates based in London. These location-based adjustments reflect the added value of in-person stakeholder outreach in these locations of interest to our organization. If you have questions about whether we can hire you in a specific country and if this will influence your decision about applying, please contact careers@iaps.ai before submitting your application.

• Time zone: While we welcome applicants from all time zones, you may be expected to attend meetings during working hours between UTC-8 and UTC+3 time zones, where most of our staff are based. Depending on your personal timezone, this might mean early morning or evening calls; however, you would not be required to attend calls outside of waking hours.

• Hours: We seek candidates who can commit to at least 20 hours per week. Please note that the salary and other benefits are based on a 40-hour work week and will be prorated accordingly.

• Travel: These roles have opportunities for business travel. However, all travel is optional and travel is not required to take this position. Trips are fully paid and may involve visits to Washington D.C., San Francisco, or London, one team retreat annually, and relevant conferences.

• Extension Requests: We will try to accommodate extension requests that are made before the deadline and are for up to three days. We generally cannot accommodate extension requests made on or after the application deadline, or are longer than 3 days, and cannot accept late submissions to ensure fairness to other applicants.

• Language: Please submit all of your application materials in English and note that we require professional level English proficiency.

• Accessibility: We’re committed to running an inclusive and accessible hiring process. We warmly invite you to reach out to careers@iaps.ai with any accommodation requests.

• Inclusivity: IAPS is committed to building an inclusive, equitable, and supportive community. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and identities.

Our Hiring Process

We are currently finalizing the stages of this hiring round. All applicants will hear from us about their application. The process may include an interview, a skills assessment, and a reference check. We are aiming to move quickly and will confirm the details of each stage with you in advance.

To apply, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button below.

Note Before Applying: Please do not include a cover letter, photograph, or headshot of yourself, or any personal information that is not relevant to the role for which you’re applying (including marital status, age, identity traits, etc.).

Contact: Please email careers@iaps.ai if you have any questions.