Senior Research Manager - AI Frontier Security

We’re hiring for this role on a rolling basis.

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

Key Information

• Title: Senior Research Manager OR Director of Research (Frontier Security)

• Salary: $111,000 - $220,000 USD annually (pre-tax)

• 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., or the San Francisco Bay Area (visa sponsorship available)

• Job type: Full-time preferred, permanent position

• Start date: as soon as possible, ideally between September and October. However, we welcome applications from candidates who may be available to start later in the year.

• Q&A webinar: Monday, July 21 at 6:00 PM ET. A sign-up link will be posted here soon. The webinar will be recorded and available on this application page following the event.

• Application deadline: Thursday, July 31, 2025, at the end of the day (23:59) Anywhere on Earth (UTC-12:00). This deadline applies to both Senior Research Manager roles (Frontier Security, and Compute Policy). However, we will process applications on a rolling basis until these positions are filled, and encourage you to apply as soon as you are able.

About IAPS

The Institute for AI Policy and Strategy (IAPS) is a nonpartisan think tank that engages experts across the U.S., allied, and partner nations to deliver concrete, technically sound policy research. We believe that AI and AGI are poised to bring transformative change over the coming years, and want to play an active role in shaping its future. Our work involves:

• 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

The Institute for AI Policy and Strategy (IAPS) is seeking a Senior Research Manager or Director of Research (depending on experience) for our Frontier Security team. Our Frontier Security team’s work identifies concrete interventions to address AI-related threats to national defense and security and protect innovation. Our current work includes research and policy engagement related to:

• Cyber and autonomy: addressing the implications of autonomous systems for the cyber offense-defense balance

• R&D for AI security and assurance: identifying promising technologies to ensure AI robustness in high-stakes applications

• Preparedness: identifying measures that ensure a timely response to AI-powered threats to national security and public safety

• Partnerships and acquisitions: exploring how the US government could accelerate robust AI via partnerships and acquisitions

We are looking for candidates with 6+ years experience in research, policy or similar roles (in government, industry, civil society, or academia), who have managed a team before, and who have a broad understanding of the AI policy field. We have a preference for candidates with experience working in or advising the US government on technology or national security policy. However, these are not hard requirements and our hiring process will test the relevant skills for the role – if you are interested but uncertain about whether you fulfill these requirements, please apply.

We are also hiring a Senior Research Manager or Director of Research for our Compute Policy team - please see our hiring page here. Please only fill in the application once even if you are interested in both teams: the initial application form is the same for each, and will ask you which teams you are interested in. If you are unsure which is a better fit, we will be happy to explore that with you during the interview stage of the hiring process. 

Additionally, we have Researcher and Senior Researcher roles available on multiple teams (see our hiring page here). You are welcome to apply to both the Senior Researcher and Senior Research Manager positions. Please note that these require separate applications as the initial application questions differ. If you would also like to be considered for the (Senior) Researcher role, please make sure to submit a separate application. 

Key Responsibilities

As a Senior Research Manager or Director of Research, your key responsibilities would include:

• Managing research staff, including weekly 1-1 meetings, coaching, performance reviews, and career development support.

• The current Frontier Security team is 6 FTE, and we are actively hiring further researchers. We have a limit of 6 direct reports per manager to ensure high quality management - however, there are research staff interested in managing a small number of direct reports (who would become your indirect reports), which we could lean on to open up your capacity as the team grows.

• Encouraging a supportive and intellectually robust culture, which fosters constructive disagreement and trust within the team.

• Ensuring the high quality of research reports, rapid turn-arounds, and outreach from the Frontier Security team – maintaining IAPS brand as a provider of trusted, technically grounded and non-partisan analysis.

• Direct review of team outputs would be a core part of your responsibilities. However, we have senior staff with varying specialities (including in each of our focus areas, and in policy engagement), in addition to a strong network of external experts, who can provide additional support in reviewing and socializing research.

• Project management of research efforts, including ensuring projects are delivered to time and quality, balancing capacity needs across the team and in response to new opportunities, managing contracts, running project retrospectives, and working with researchers and our Policy and Engagement team to ensure research efforts are followed through to policy impact.

• Strategic guidance to ensure project selection is driven by a deep understanding of recent AI developments, the largest AI-driven threats to security and innovation, and our team’s comparative advantages and expertise.

• Given the breadth of the Frontier Security team’s scope, we don’t expect you to be an expert across the board, and your team can support you with a lot of relevant expertise. We also typically involve staff heavily in strategic decisions. However, we would expect you to bring enough broad understanding of the AI field to synthesize this information, provide thought leadership in your areas of expertise, and make strategic calls.

• Conducting hiring and fundraising for new roles, including contributing a strong case for these roles to organization-level fundraising applications, and working with your team to apply for project-based funding opportunities where relevant. You would have substantial support from leadership on fundraising efforts and we don’t require prior fundraising experience.

• Outreach and relationship-building with key stakeholders, particularly in Washington DC. You would be a public face for our Frontier Security team.

Directors of Research are expected to have more experience, and provide a higher level of thought leadership, strategic guidance, and / or outreach and relationship-building.

What We Are Looking For

All applicants should have…

• 6+ years research, policy, or similar experience (this can be in industry, government, civil society or academia, and can include individual contribution and management experience), with at least some of this experience related to AI or other emerging technologies.

• Experience managing a team of research, policy, or technical staff.

• A broad understanding of the AI policy field.

Preferred but not required:

• Specialization in at least one area related to our work where you could provide substantive thought leadership. These areas include but are not limited to: AI agents, cybersecurity, government procurement and acquisition processes, threat modeling, LLM development, and emerging technology R&D.

• Experience working in or advising the US government on technology or national security policy.

Note: We also encourage applicants with significantly more experience to apply! Our salary range is wide to accommodate experienced candidates, and we are also able to give more senior titles (e.g. Director of Research, Frontier Security) to candidates if more commensurate with their experience.

Additionally, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t have experience in all the responsibilities listed under ‘Key Responsibilities’. We have several senior staff on the team who are able to support on many of these fronts, and are willing to invest in the development of an exceptional candidate.

What We Offer

Compensation

• Annual salary within the following range for a full-time position, prorated for part-time work: $111,000 - $220,000  USD (pre-tax)

• Compensation is not restricted to USD and will be paid in a candidate’s local currency after applying the appropriate exchange rate.

• The exact salary will be based on the candidate’s prior relevant experience and location (candidates in DC and SF will receive relatively higher salaries), according to IAPS’s salary algorithm.

Other Benefits

• Comprehensive global benefits package, including fully paid health insurance. 

• Generous paid time off (PTO) leave and unpaid leave, including:

• Unlimited vacation with a minimum 30 days off per year (incl. public local holidays, vacation time, and “mandated” 3-weeks total mid- and end-year organization-wide breaks).

• Unlimited (within reason) personal and sick leave.

• Parental leave - up to 6-9 months of a combination of paid and unpaid parental leave that can be taken prior to and/or during the first 2 years after a child’s birth or adoption. 

• Technology stipend of the equivalent of $2000 USD every 3 years that can be used to cover costs of purchasing work and office equipment.

• Annual team retreat and other opportunities for fully paid travel of generally 1-2 weeks per trip, including stipends to help cover the cost of dependent care while traveling. (Note: travel is never required)

• We encourage proactive professional development and offer learning opportunities, including conferences and workshops. We also encourage staff to set aside 10% of work time dedicated to professional and personal development.

Additional Information

• Location: These roles are fully remote, and we are able to legally hire in most countries, and have staff in many timezones across the globe. However, we have a preference for this role to be located in DC or the San Francisco Bay Area, and candidates from these locations can expect to receive a higher salary to reflect the added value of in-person stakeholder outreach in these locations of interest to our organization. In certain cases, we may be able to provide visa sponsorship to the US or UK and help candidates relocate. If you have questions about whether we can hire or provide visa sponsorship in another country and if this will influence your decision about applying, please contact careers@iaps.ai before submitting your application.

• Hours: We are open to candidates who can commit to 20-40 hours per week, with 30+ hours preferred. Please note that the salary is based on a 40-hour workweek and will be prorated accordingly.

• Travel: This role has a lot of 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 DC, San Francisco, 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 up to three (3) 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 application process. We warmly invite you to reach out to careers@iaps.ai with any questions or accessibility requests.

• Hiring Emails: Please add careers@iaps.ai to your trusted contacts and/or check your 'spam', 'promotions' and ‘updates’ folders, if you don’t hear from us within the expected timeframe. We also encourage you to add Fillout domain (@fillout.com) as we collect job applications through Fillout’s platform.

Our Hiring Process

There are 5 evaluation stages for our Research Manager roles: (1) application questions, (2) short first interview (~45m), (3) written task (~5 hours) (4) longer second interview (~2 hours) and (5) reference checks. We aim to complete assessments at each stage within two weeks and ensure every application receives a response.

To apply, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button below. You may select which team(s) you wish to be considered for within the application form. We ask that you spend no more than two (2) hours preparing your responses to the prompts in the form.

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.). Additionally, please do not ask our staff members involved in the hiring process to meet with you – to ensure fairness, we try to minimize these interactions, and requests for meetings with the hiring committee members during the process will be declined. 

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