Job Description

Manager, AI Safety and Security Policy 

Full-time, 1-year termed FAS staff position with benefits

Washington, DC | Hybrid

To Sum It Up…

What’s the “elevator pitch” for the role?

FAS is expanding its capacity to govern increasingly advanced AI systems in the public interest. As Manager for AI Safety and Security Policy, you will help turn cutting-edge technical insights into concrete policy action by managing high-quality projects, producing rigorous analysis, and helping ensure that rapid advances in AI are matched by credible, evidence-based governance.

Working under the direction of the Director of AI and Emerging Technology Policy, you will help develop and execute policy proposals at the frontier of AI safety and security. You will help identify emerging risks, translate technical work into policy-relevant insights, and coordinate policymakers and experts at key moments when decisions are being shaped.

This is a role for a program manager and emerging policy entrepreneur: someone who can build clear workplans, coordinate contributors, produce original analysis, and move ideas from research to real-world policy outcomes. You will work closely with researchers, policymakers, civil society, and industry experts across a wide range of perspectives, ranging from AI safety and security to innovation and governance, supported by cross-functional FAS teams.

Success in this role means managing high-quality execution and producing rigorous work that creates impact: informing debates, shaping proposals, and supporting decision-makers as they grapple with the challenges posed by frontier AI systems.

In the near term, this role will focus substantially on FAS's AI safety work, including policy research, technical assistance, convenings, policy sprints, and the AI Safety Policy Entrepreneurship Fellowship.

Skills and Expertise: Must Haves

What skills do you need to show proficiency (or higher) in order to be a strong candidate?

• 5+ years of relevant experience across think tanks, government, academia, civil society, or industry.
• Demonstrated program or project management experience, including the ability to break large or ambiguous projects into manageable components, timelines, and deliverables.
• Familiarity with at least one relevant AI safety/security policy area.
• Demonstrated expertise in research, analysis, and writing related to AI policy or technology governance, with the ability to translate complex concepts into clear, actionable, and policy-relevant materials for diverse audiences.
• Ability to engage critically with technical AI work, including understanding research claims, methods, and limitations and translating those insights into policy implications.
• Comfort working in a dynamic, time-sensitive policy environment, including managing deliverables tied to policy windows.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across teams and with external partners, incorporating feedback and contributing to a respectful, mission-driven culture.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, including the ability to track and quality-control multiple deliverables associated with a single project.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate complex projects across teams and engage effectively with stakeholders at all levels of an organization.
• Experience coordinating research projects, policy sprints, events, or convenings involving multiple stakeholders.

Skills and Expertise: Preferred

• Direct experience engaging with government stakeholders, including congressional offices, federal agencies, or state governments.
• Experience supporting or participating in briefings for policymakers or senior decision-makers.
• Direct experience in one or more AI safety and security policy topics, including frontier AI safety, AI and CBRN risks, AI and cybersecurity, model evaluations, red-teaming, or dangerous capabilities governance.
• Hands-on technical experience in AI or ML, or substantial familiarity with contemporary AI research and development practices.
• Experience using AI models to improve productivity and develop new processes and tools.
• An advanced degree (e.g., MS, MPP/MPA), particularly in a field relevant to AI policy or national security.

Key Responsibilities 

The Manager will contribute to a subset of the responsibilities below, with emphasis on project execution, policy analysis, and coordination.

Policy Analysis and Development

• Help identify and prioritize policy windows where targeted interventions, such as briefings, public comments, convenings, or memos, can have outsized impact.
• Conduct research and draft written products (e.g., memos, blog posts, policy briefs, or reports) on AI safety and security issues, with guidance from senior staff.
• Track and synthesize emerging developments in AI capabilities, safety research, and policy debates relevant to frontier AI governance.
• Engage with external experts, including technical AI researchers, to inform FAS policy work.
• Coordinate responses to requests for technical assistance from policymakers, including background research, briefing materials, and project tracking.
• Collaborate with the Day One community and support activities related to the AI Safety Policy Entrepreneurship Fellowship .
• Contribute to cross-portfolio projects at FAS (e.g., AI and nuclear weapons, AI and biosecurity), as needed.

Project and Program Management

• Manage timelines, deliverables, and coordination for AI safety and security policy projects.
• Develop project plans that translate complex policy work into clear milestones, owners, dependencies, and timelines, and adjust those plans as circumstances change.
• Track and provide quality control for multiple deliverables associated with a single project, escalating risks or resource needs appropriately.
• Support the planning and execution of workshops, briefings, policy sprints, and convenings, including agenda development, speaker coordination, participant follow-up, and synthesis of outcomes.
• Contribute to internal coordination across FAS teams to ensure alignment and high-quality execution.
• Improve internal processes, templates, and routines that make AI safety and security work easier to coordinate and scale.
• Assist with drafting materials for funders, including progress updates, reports, and grant-related planning materials, as appropriate.

Policy Engagement and Field-Building

• Participate in meetings with policymakers, civil society organizations, and technical experts to support relationship-building and idea exchange.
• Represent FAS at selected external events, as appropriate to level and experience.
• Support communications and public-facing work, including background research for media engagement or public commentary.
• Help identify promising policy entrepreneurs and technical experts who could contribute to FAS policy development programs or convenings.

Why FAS?  

Does FAS sound like an organization that you would be energized to join?  Is it aligned to your values?

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) takes quite seriously our role as a beacon and voice for the science community.  

FAS has a rich history: after the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, a group of atomic researchers – deeply concerned about the use of science for malice – created an organization committed to using science and technology to benefit humanity.  

The group they created – the Federation of Atomic Scientists – soon became the Federation of American Scientists in recognition of the hundreds of scientists across diverse disciplines who joined together to speak with one voice for the betterment of the world.  

Today, we are a group of entrepreneurial, intrepid changemakers, forging a better future for all through the nexus of science, technology and talent. We value equity, inclusion, and transparency.  As a collective, we are building an organization focused on being impact-driven, customer-focused, and growth-oriented as a force for good in the world. We value fairness, inclusion, transparency, and impact, and we aim to ensure that transformative technologies like AI are governed responsibly.

Our previous AI policy work has included:

• Developing AI safety policy proposals that have shaped government policy.
• Analyzing AI companies’ preparedness frameworks for the National Institute of Standards and Technology.  
• Submitting recommendations to inform the administration’s AI Action Plan (see our response to the Action Plan here ).
• Hosting private convenings , including with administration officials and members of Congress, at the intersection of AI and various global risks, including cybersecurity, biosecurity, nuclear weapons.
• Publishing policy memos at the intersection of AI and energy in collaboration with leading researchers.
• Working with scientists and policymakers to share ideas on how AI can accelerate scientific research . 
• Creating policy proposals for AI specifically targeted at Congress , and directly briefing these ideas to staffers on Capitol Hill.
• Launching an ongoing policy development sprint to promote fair and trustworthy AI.
• Publishing a detailed report on the performance and bias of facial recognition systems.

Work Environment 

This is a one-year, full-time, fully benefited position. Continuation beyond the initial one-year term is contingent on organizational financial standing and continued funding availability, as well as FAS organizational needs and mutual interest. 

This position will be a hybrid role based in Washington DC. Meaning that both remote and in-person work can be accommodated, generally two to three days per week on-site, and two to three days per week remote depending on the needs of the organization.

This position is included in a union-represented collective bargaining unit , and specific terms and conditions of employment are subject to collective bargaining .

Salary Range

• $75,000 - $90,000

Benefits

FAS offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package that supports employees’ health, financial security, and overall well-being. Benefits include a competitive 403(b) retirement plan, medical, dental, and vision coverage, short-term and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, employee assistance support, pre-tax benefits such as healthcare and dependent care FSAs, and commuter benefits.

Hiring Statement

Don’t check off every box? Apply anyway! Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every listed qualification. At FAS we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and developing new voices. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway – you might just be the right candidate.

The Federation of American Scientists is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. The Federation of American Scientists prohibits discriminating against employees and job applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose the compensation of the employee or applicant or another employee or applicant.  Employment is contingent on successful verification of eligibility to work in the United States. Please note that we are unable to offer employment sponsorship for this role.

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