Program Lead, AIxBio

Job description

ABOUT CAMBRIDGE BOSTON ALIGNMENT INITIATIVE The Cambridge Boston Alignment Initiative http://cbai.ai (CBAI) is a nonprofit research organization working to advance research and education directed towards ensuring that society navigates a safe and beneficial transition to advanced AI systems. Our work takes the form of producing original research efforts and accelerating AI safety research through fellowship programs. Our inaugural summer fellowship cohort has already published a spotlight paper at the Mechanistic Interpretability Workshop at NeurIPS, accepted papers at ICLR, and some of our fellows have joined Goodfire and Redwood Research. After a successful 2025 launch, we're rapidly scaling in 2026. We will host multiple fellowship cycles (Fall, Spring, and Summer), double the fellowship cohort, and quadruple our team. Refer us candidates https://airtable.com/app4zWdbexhJgyBwp/pagLKlt1Zh0RV163y/form, and receive $5,000 if we hire them. THE ROLE You'll serve as the founding organizer of CBAI's AIxBio Research Fellowship, a new program at the intersection of AI and biosecurity. You'll own the strategic and operational direction of the AIxBio program, manage the AIxBio Research Managers, lead mentor recruitment and relationships, and build the AIxBio fellowship into a durable, high-impact research environment in Cambridge. You'll work closely with CBAI's Director of Programs and organizational leadership to ensure the AIxBio program grows in a way that's coherent with CBAI's broader mission and infrastructure, as well as in alignment with the CBAI AI safety fellowship program. PROGRAM STRATEGY & DEVELOPMENT (0.7 FTE) - Own the strategic vision and continuous improvement of the AIxBio Research Fellowship across cycles - Design the program end-to-end, from the fellow selection process to incorporating inputs from the stakeholders into the program design - Design program structures — mentor matching, fellow selection criteria, research goal frameworks, cohort programming — in collaboration with CBAI's Research Program Associate and research managers - Develop evaluation frameworks to assess fellow outcomes and program effectiveness - Identify and pursue opportunities to deepen CBAI's presence in the Cambridge biosecurity research ecosystem - Collaborate with CBAI program leadership to ensure cross-program coherence and resource alignment - Manage AIxBio Research Managers, providing guidance, feedback, and support STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT (0.3 FTE) - Lead mentor recruitment: identify, outreach to, and onboard biosecurity and AI researchers as mentors - Maintain strong ongoing relationships with mentors, SecureBio, Coefficient Giving, and other program partners - Serve as the primary point of contact for mentors throughout the fellowship cycle, in coordination with research managers ABOUT YOU Deep familiarity with AI x biosecurity. You have meaningful experience in or at the intersection of biosecurity and AI — whether through research, policy, field-building, or program leadership. You can engage credibly with mentors and fellows working on capability evaluations, dual-use research governance, or adjacent agendas. A builder's orientation. You're excited by the challenge of launching something new. You can operate with ambiguity, make good decisions with incomplete information, and build systems that outlast your direct involvement. Strong relationship builder. Mentor recruitment and retention is central to this role. You know how to build trust with senior researchers and institutional partners, and you understand what makes a collaboration feel worthwhile to a busy academic or industry expert. Strategic and operational range. You can think at the level of program design and organizational strategy while also rolling up your sleeves when needed. You're not precious about the distinction. Excellent communicator. You write clearly, present compellingly, and give feedback that moves things forward. You represent CBAI well to external audiences. People leader. You have experience managing or mentoring others and take genuine satisfaction in helping your team do their best work. You give clear direction, create psychological safety, and hold people accountable with care. Mission-motivated. You believe biosecurity risks from AI are serious and want to contribute meaningfully to building a field of researchers and policy thinkers working on them. We are open to candidates from a range of backgrounds; researchers who have pivoted toward program leadership, program directors with strong domain familiarity, or professionals with field-building experience with a lot of stakeholders. What matters most is that you have the credibility to recruit and retain excellent mentors, the judgment to shape a high-quality research environment, and the leadership capacity to manage a small team. NICE TO HAVES - Existing relationships in the biosecurity, AI safety, or adjacent research communities - Experience launching or directing a research program, fellowship, or academic initiative - Published research or policy work in a relevant domain However, there is no such thing as a "perfect" candidate. If you are on the fence about applying because you are unsure whether you are qualified, we strongly encourage you to apply. WHY THIS ROLE MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT FIT We want to be transparent about what this position entails so you can make an informed decision about whether it's right for you: This is a program leadership role, not a research role. You'll be deeply embedded in cutting-edge biosecurity and AI safety research, but you will not personally do research, and will likely not have the bandwidth to be hands-on with any research. The job is to build the environment in which that research happens, not to conduct it. If you're primarily motivated by advancing your own research agenda, this role may not be satisfying. You're building something new. The AIxBio fellowship is in its early stages. There's significant opportunity to shape it, but also significant ambiguity. If you thrive in fully defined roles with established playbooks, this may be challenging. Your success is measured by others' outcomes. When fellows produce impactful research, mentors return for future cycles, and the program grows into a recognized institution in the Cambridge biosecurity ecosystem, that's your win. You'll learn a lot, develop relationships with stakeholders, and navigate through uncertainty. If this sounds exciting to you, if you want to spend at least a year building something that doesn't yet fully exist, working at the frontier of one of the most consequential emerging risk areas, and doing it from one of the world's great research cities, this role could be a great fit. ROLE DETAILS AND BENEFITS Team: You'll report to the Director of Programs. Salary: $110,000- $130,000, depending on experience level. For exceptional candidates, we are flexible on the compensation range. We also provide: - 5% 403(b) match contribution - Comprehensive health insurance - Generous PTO policy - Employer-paid commuter benefits - Reimbursement for work-related technology and/or home office expenses U.S. work authorization required (we accept OPT). Location: This position is primarily based in Cambridge, MA. While we expect you to spend most of your time working in-person from our Harvard Square office (particularly during active fellowship cycles), we can offer some hybrid flexibility between fellowship cohorts for candidates with specific circumstances. In those cases, we can give you access to AI safety co-working spaces in Berkeley and NYC. Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a continuous basis until the position is filled. SELECTION PROCESS We use a multi-stage process to find the right fit: 1. Application Review: We review applications on a rolling basis and invite strong candidates to phone screens. We take the hiring process seriously, and this means your application will be reviewed in detail by a CBAI employee. 2. Initial Phone Screen (15 minutes): A conversation with the team manager to discuss your background, understand your interest in research management and AI safety, and answer your initial questions about the role. 3. Paid Test Task: Strong candidates from the phone screen will receive a paid test task that mirrors actual research manager responsibilities — such as designing a mentor recruitment strategy, proposing a program component, or developing an evaluation framework for fellow outcomes. You'll have a fixed amount of time to complete this. 4. Interview: Top candidates from the test task will be invited for an interview, including some of the following topics: 1. Discussion of your test task submission 2. Strategic case study: how you would approach building and growing the AIxBio program over its first year 3. Mentor recruitment scenario: how you would identify, approach, and retain a senior biosecurity researcher as a mentor 4. Conversation with CBAI leadership and potentially an existing mentor or partner 5. Deep dive into your leadership approach and experience managing teams 5. Reference Checks: For our top finalists, we'll conduct reference checks and a final conversation to ensure mutual fit. We'll discuss logistics, answer remaining questions, and clarify expectations. 6. Offer: Selected candidates will receive an offer and detailed onboarding information. CBAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. In acknowledgement of the research that suggests that women, gender minorities, and other marginalized groups may be less likely to apply for roles where they don’t meet every criterion, we especially encourage people in these categories to apply. We may use AI to assist in the initial screening of applications, including to detect whether candidates have used AI models in drafting their application. Decisions are always made by a human on our team.