Role Overview
The AI Offense-Defense Dynamics Lead Researcher position at the Future of Life Institute involves leading critical investigations to decode how artificial intelligence systems impact societal safety. Operating within the Center for AI Risk Management & Alignment (CARMA), this full-time remote role suits an analytical expert dedicated to shaping global AI governance and risk mitigation frameworks.
Key Responsibilities
Build quantitative system dynamics models that capture the interaction between social, institutional, and technological factors affecting AI risk.
Design analytical models and simulations to locate leverage points where policy changes improve offense-defense balances.
Expand the existing offense-defense dynamics taxonomy by creating predictive metrics and models.
Validate theoretical models using documented cases of beneficial deployments and AI misuse.
Examine how technical traits like accessibility, adaptability, and capability breadth interact with sociotechnical environments.
Communicate research findings publicly via media engagement, conference presentations, blog posts, and articles.
Develop tools and methodologies to evaluate newly released AI models for offense-defense implications.
Author evidence-based guidance for AI governance, factoring in complex dependencies between technical features and deployment settings.
Translate complex research conclusions into practical strategies for standards organizations, AI developers, security professionals, and policymakers.
Requirements
Hold an M.Sc. or higher degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Security Studies, Criminology, Risk Management, AI Policy, or a related discipline.
Bring demonstrated experience in security analysis, risk assessment methodologies, or complex systems modeling.
Possess a strong comprehension of dual-use technologies alongside factors governing offensive versus defensive preferences.
Demonstrate a deep understanding of modern AI architectures, including autonomous agents, multimodal models, and large language models.
Show direct experience in areas such as AI governance, safety engineering, security studies research, cybersecurity, systems dynamics modeling, complexity science, adversarial analysis, or technical standards development.
Demonstrate the capability to build both qualitative frameworks and semi-quantitative, semi-empirical models grounded in logic.
Present a documented record of research contributions or publications focused on technology governance, risk, or security.
Exhibit exceptional analytical thinking with the aptitude to spot feedback loops and non-obvious path dependencies.
Nice to Have
Hold a PhD in a relevant academic field.
Bring practical experience with hypergraph techniques, system dynamics modeling, or other complex network analysis tools.
Possess skills in building interactive dashboards and tools for risk visualization.
Demonstrate a background in interdisciplinary research that bridges social science and technical domains.
Show aptitude in first-principles thinking and top-down techniques.
Offer experience in quantifying qualitative risk factors or creating proxy metrics.
Have a background in analyzing or compiling incident databases and case studies for pattern recognition.
Maintain familiarity with empirical approaches for impact prediction and technology assessment.
Possess knowledge of international relations theory regarding technology proliferation.
Skills and Tools
Complex systems modeling and risk assessment methodologies
System dynamics models and hypergraph techniques
Modern AI architectures including large language models and autonomous agents
Qualitative framework creation and quantitative metrics development
Technical standards, security analysis, and adversarial evaluation
Salary and Benefits
Annual salary ranging from $125,000 to $200,000 USD.
Full-time contract employment structure.
About the Company
The Center for AI Risk Management & Alignment (CARMA) operates as a project of the Future of Life Institute, aiming to help society navigate catastrophic risks stemming from transformative artificial intelligence. CARMA focuses on grounding risk management in rigorous analysis, advancing technical safety approaches, developing AGI-focused policy frameworks, and fostering global perspectives. CARMA is fiscally sponsored by Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should visit the official company careers page to submit an application for this remote position.
