Research Program Associate, AI Safety

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 work closely with our Research Managers, mentors, and program leadership to design and continuously improve the structures that enable fellows to do their best research. This is a program-building role: you'll develop the systems and frameworks that govern how fellows are matched with mentors, how research goals are scoped and tracked, how progress both for the fellows and the program is assessed, and how fellows get unblocked when they need it. You won't be managing fellows day-to-day, but you'll be shaping the environment in which that relationship thrives. PROGRAM DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT (0.6 FTE) - Design and iterate on the systems, ranging from improving CBAI's fellow selection process to program deliverables - Identify high-potential outreach channels and methods and own the outreach campaign for future iterations - Develop structured program evaluation frameworks to assess fellow progress and program effectiveness across cohorts - Identify and implement structural improvements between fellowship cycles, drawing on fellow, mentor, and research manager feedback - Support the design and execution of fellowship events, including speaker series and poster days, in coordination with program leadership FELLOW & MENTOR EXPERIENCE (0.4 FTE) - Design and manage the mentor onboarding experience, ensuring mentors have clear expectations, the right resources, and a smooth entry into the fellowship - Develop feedback mechanisms that surface issues early and create strong communication loops between fellows, mentors, and program leadership - Support research managers in navigating complex fellow or mentor situations that require program-level input - Design supplementary programming that strengthens the fellowship's intellectual environment (e.g., reading groups, lightning talk series, workshop sessions, and similar structures that complement fellows' primary research work) ABOUT YOU We expect you to be characterized by most of the qualities listed below. You understand what good research support looks like. You've been close enough to serious intellectual or analytical work — whether in academia, policy, consulting, or a research organization — to know what separates an environment where researchers thrive from one where they flounder. You don't need to be a researcher yourself, but you need to have seen the process from the inside. You think in systems. You naturally ask: what structure would make this work better? You can look at a program, identify the friction points, and design solutions that are simple enough to actually work. You have a track record of building processes that others find useful rather than burdensome. You're an excellent communicator. You write clearly, explain things concisely, and give feedback that moves things forward. You're proactive when you notice a problem and direct when something needs to be said. You're organized and conscientious. You keep complex, multi-stakeholder projects on track, follow through reliably, and maintain clear documentation. You're receptive to feedback and improve your approach based on what you learn. Interpersonally excellent. You're a strong collaborator and stakeholder manager. You know how to work across Research Managers, mentors, fellows, and leadership without creating friction, and you take pride in helping others do their best work. Mission-motivated. You are strongly aligned with CBAI's mission and are familiar with AGI safety and catastrophic AI risks. You want to contribute meaningfully to reducing AI catastrophic risks and are passionate about accomplishing as much as possible. Curious and adaptable. You're genuinely interested in AI safety research even if you're not a researcher yourself. You actively seek out tools and approaches that can improve fellowship effectiveness and stay current on developments relevant to the program. The ideal candidate will have meaningful experience designing or improving programs, initiatives, or organizational systems. Experience in research-adjacent environments (labs, think tanks, or similar) is a strong plus. What matters most is that you've built things that worked and improved the work of others as a result. NICE TO HAVES - Previous involvement in AI safety, field-building, or research acceleration programs - Experience in research program coordination or academic administration - Familiarity with how research fellowships or grant programs operate 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: You're building infrastructure, not doing research. Your job is to design the systems and conditions that let fellows do excellent research, but not to contribute to the research itself. You're not running day-to-day operations. The logistics of running a fellowship — scheduling, communications, event execution — sit with other members of the team. Your focus is upstream: the design decisions that determine how those operations work. If you're energized by hands-on execution rather than system design, this might not be the right fit. Your success is measured by the program's outcomes. When fellows publish papers, secure positions at top research groups or labs, or have a transformative research experience, that's your win. If this sounds exciting to you and if you want to spend at least a year becoming excellent at building research environments, developing deep expertise in program design, and contributing to an ambitious research ecosystem in Cambridge, MA, this role could be a great fit. ROLE DETAILS AND BENEFITS Team: You'll report to the Director of Programs. Salary: $100,000 – $125,000, depending on experience. 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 program 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 program associate responsibilities — such as designing a program component, developing an evaluation framework, proposing a structural improvement to an existing fellowship element, or drafting an outreach campaign. 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. Case study of fellowship program scenarios 3. Conversation with CBAI team members and potentially a mentor 4. Deep dive into your approach to program design and building research environments 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.