Generalist (Special Projects)
About this role
Join Kairos’s new Special Projects team to help launch and run the tactical projects we take on.
Depending on experience, we consider candidates for the Generalist (Special Projects) or Senior Generalist (Special Projects) version of this role.
We’re reviewing applications on a rolling basis.
About Kairos
Kairos is a nonprofit accelerating talent into AI safety and policy. In just over two years, we’ve trained 1,200+ people through our flagship programs:
SPAR: The largest AI safety research fellowship, with 800+ mentees per round mentored by researchers from Anthropic, Redwood Research, RAND, MIT, the UK AI Security Institute, and others.
Generator Residency: In partnership with Constellation, a platform for generalist talent to pitch, build, and ship projects that build capacity and infrastructure across the AI safety ecosystem, with advisors from OpenAI, AI Futures Project, METR, and more.
Global Challenges Project: A workshop series introducing promising students to careers in AI safety and biosecurity, run several times a year across Oxford, Boston, and Berkeley.
Pathfinder Fellowship: Helping grow the global network of AI safety university groups from a few dozen to nearly 100, with $9.5M in funding over the next two years to support their work.
We see ourselves as a portfolio of highly impactful projects in a fast-evolving field. Over the next six months, we expect to double in size and launch several new initiatives addressing critical gaps in the ecosystem.
The Role
Kairos has historically made a small number of large, ongoing bets, like SPAR and Pathfinder. We’ve learned that a surprising number of time-bound opportunities are worth pursuing too, whether that’s an event, a one-off program, or a project that responds to a narrow window for impact. Our new Special Projects team exists to go after them, and we’re looking for a generalist to help get its projects off the ground.
Some of these projects will be short-lived by design. Others may become lasting programs. Generator went from an idea to a 27-resident cohort at Constellation in a matter of months, and Talent Commons, our shared talent database, will likely become a core part of how Kairos, and much of the AI safety ecosystem, routes talent.
You’d work closely with our Head of Special Projects, doing what each project’s stage needs most, whether that’s recruiting the first participants, running a pilot’s operations, building the systems behind it, or helping figure out whether the idea works at all.
What You’ll Do
Help launch new projects. You’ll work on one or two early-stage projects at a time, taking on whatever they need to get off the ground.
Build the systems behind them. You’ll set up the infrastructure new projects run on, like applications, communications, and automations, so a pilot can grow into a program.
Grow with the work. You’ll take on more ownership as projects mature, and the shape of the role will evolve with your strengths and interests.
Pitch in on broader Kairos work as capacity allows. You’ll help on active programs like SPAR, Pathfinder, and Generator, build relationships across the AI safety ecosystem, and ship small cross-team projects.
Who You Are
You want to do many things well, pick up new domains quickly, and work on whatever is most useful rather than settle into a fixed lane.
High agency. Early-stage projects come with little structure. You figure out what needs doing and do it, without waiting to be asked.
Fast and scrappy. You ship quickly, iterate as you learn, and are okay with unglamorous operational work along the way.
Mission-aligned with context on AI safety. You care deeply about making advanced AI go well, and you’re familiar enough with the ecosystem to understand the gaps our new projects aim to fill.
Why Work With Us
You’ll be working toward reducing risks from advanced AI, potentially the most important challenge of our time. The projects you help build could become Kairos’s next core programs and address critical bottlenecks in AI safety.
Few roles offer this much variety. You’ll touch several programs and projects in your first year, and we’ll shape the role around your comparative advantage.
We’re building a world-class team, so you’ll be in good company. Work alongside people who’ve come to Kairos from METR, Coefficient Giving, Rethink Priorities, the UK AI Security Institute, and CEA who share your commitment to impact.
Collaborate regularly with leading AI safety researchers, policy professionals, funders, and organizers.
What We Offer
Salary: $105,000–$145,000 (baseline), $130,000–$180,000 (supported hubs, like London, DC, Boston, and NYC), or $145,000–$200,000 (San Francisco Bay Area), depending on experience, with potential for additional compensation for exceptional candidates
Location: This is a remote role. We provide access to office space in San Francisco, Berkeley, London, or Boston, with optional coworking elsewhere. If you work from an AI safety office in one of these cities, we cover food, lunches, and office expenses. If you work from home, we cover home office expenses.
Benefits: Flexible working hours, highly competitive health insurance, dental and vision coverage, generous vacation policy, and professional development budget
Team retreats: We host all-team retreats three times a year to connect in person, collaborate, and build team culture.
Travel: Work-related travel and expenses covered.
Logistics
Start date: Flexible, though we generally expect new hires to be able to start within a couple of months of applying
Remote, with expected travel 3–6 times a year for conferences and events, predominantly in the US
We’d also be happy for you to work out of any of the AI safety hubs in San Francisco, Berkeley, London, or Boston.
We prefer candidates who can attend meetings in the ET time zone (though our team currently spans GMT-8 to GMT+1).
Kairos is happy to sponsor visas to the US (typically H-1Bs or O-1As) and will likely be able to sponsor UK visas in the coming months. We can’t guarantee visa approvals, however.
Our Culture
We’re a small, high-trust team motivated by the urgent challenge of making advanced AI go well. We try hard to figure out where we’re wrong, which means we say uncomfortable things to each other and change our minds fairly often. We value collaborative truth-seeking, a scout mindset, agility, and an alliance mindset with the broader ecosystem.
We also believe meaningful work should be enjoyable. We support each other’s well-being, celebrate wins, and maintain a healthy sense of humor even when the work is hard.
Application Process
We’re reviewing applications on a rolling basis.
Application form (10–20 mins)
Take-home assignment (2–4 hours, paid)
Interview (45 mins)
Reference checks
Work trial (3 days, paid)
Offer
If you’re excited about this role but unsure whether you meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. If you’re interested in multiple roles, apply to the one that best fits your skills and interests, and note in your application the other roles that you’d like to be considered for.
This role’s scope, salary, and responsibilities may evolve, and we’ll keep you in the loop about any changes if you apply.
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Compensation: $105K – $200K • Multiple Ranges
- Most locations (baseline) • $105K – $145K
- London, DC, Boston, NYC • $130K – $180K
- San Francisco Bay Area • $145K – $200K
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