Chief of Staff, AI Alignment Foundation
We're hiring a Chief of Staff to expand the bandwidth of our Head of Research Partnerships and the broader AIAF team. You'll own the operational backbone of our external engagement - the CRM, the grant pipeline, the event calendar, and the thousand small pieces that turn relationships and opportunities into funded research.
This is a generalist role for someone scrappy, organized, and fast. You'll work directly with senior leadership and get exposure to the full stack of how a research nonprofit operates: fundraising, government proposals, academic partnerships, donor relations, and the alignment research community itself.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Own CRM hygiene and pipeline management. Keep our partnerships, funder, and collaborator pipeline clean, current, and actionable. Surface what needs attention and when.
Support grant applications end-to-end. Draft smaller applications (think SFF-scale and similar), serve as a reviewer and second set of eyes on larger ones, and handle the administrative load of grant reporting and compliance.
Coordinate and attend events. Manage logistics for conferences, donor meetings, and workshops. Travel with the team to EA Global, AI safety events, DC meetings, and similar.
Flex into proposal support. Help with the non-technical scaffolding of government proposals (budget templates, compliance documents, administrative exhibits). Most of this is filling things out correctly and on time, not writing technical content.
Write clearly and often. Draft external communications, partner updates, event briefs, and internal memos.
ABOUT YOU
You're organized by default. Your inbox, calendar, and task lists are where things get done, not where things go to die.
You write well and quickly. You can turn a messy meeting into a clean summary and a scattered brief into a coherent application.
You're high-responsiveness and low-ego. You dive into whatever needs doing - admin, legal, ops, logistics - and get it done without needing to be asked twice.
You're genuinely interested in AI safety and the research we support. You don't need to be a researcher, but you should be able to follow a conversation about alignment work and represent it credibly to funders and partners.
You're comfortable with ambiguity and move fast. This isn't a role where someone hands you a checklist every morning.
SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE LOOKS LIKE
Our CRM is a source of truth, not a graveyard.
Grant deadlines are hit early, not scrambled.
The existing AIAF team operates with meaningfully more bandwidth because of the work you've absorbed.
External partners and funders feel like they're working with a tight, professional organization.
You're trusted to represent AIAF at events and in low-stakes external conversations within your first six months.
REQUIREMENTS
3+ years of work experience
Excellent writing and written communication
Strong operational instincts and project management skills
Willingness and ability to travel regularly (domestic, occasionally international)
Full-time availability
BONUS POINTS FOR
Background or connection to the effective altruism / AI safety community
Prior experience with CRM tools, grant writing, or nonprofit operations
Sales, business development, or events background
Technical background (CS, engineering, or similar) or fluency reading AI/ML research
Experience with government or foundation grant applications
Salary range from $120k/year to $200k/year, depending on experience. We are prepared to offer a salary above this range for candidates who bring a particularly strong technical background.
This is a generalist role for someone scrappy, organized, and fast. You'll work directly with senior leadership and get exposure to the full stack of how a research nonprofit operates: fundraising, government proposals, academic partnerships, donor relations, and the alignment research community itself.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Own CRM hygiene and pipeline management. Keep our partnerships, funder, and collaborator pipeline clean, current, and actionable. Surface what needs attention and when.
Support grant applications end-to-end. Draft smaller applications (think SFF-scale and similar), serve as a reviewer and second set of eyes on larger ones, and handle the administrative load of grant reporting and compliance.
Coordinate and attend events. Manage logistics for conferences, donor meetings, and workshops. Travel with the team to EA Global, AI safety events, DC meetings, and similar.
Flex into proposal support. Help with the non-technical scaffolding of government proposals (budget templates, compliance documents, administrative exhibits). Most of this is filling things out correctly and on time, not writing technical content.
Write clearly and often. Draft external communications, partner updates, event briefs, and internal memos.
ABOUT YOU
You're organized by default. Your inbox, calendar, and task lists are where things get done, not where things go to die.
You write well and quickly. You can turn a messy meeting into a clean summary and a scattered brief into a coherent application.
You're high-responsiveness and low-ego. You dive into whatever needs doing - admin, legal, ops, logistics - and get it done without needing to be asked twice.
You're genuinely interested in AI safety and the research we support. You don't need to be a researcher, but you should be able to follow a conversation about alignment work and represent it credibly to funders and partners.
You're comfortable with ambiguity and move fast. This isn't a role where someone hands you a checklist every morning.
SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE LOOKS LIKE
Our CRM is a source of truth, not a graveyard.
Grant deadlines are hit early, not scrambled.
The existing AIAF team operates with meaningfully more bandwidth because of the work you've absorbed.
External partners and funders feel like they're working with a tight, professional organization.
You're trusted to represent AIAF at events and in low-stakes external conversations within your first six months.
REQUIREMENTS
3+ years of work experience
Excellent writing and written communication
Strong operational instincts and project management skills
Willingness and ability to travel regularly (domestic, occasionally international)
Full-time availability
BONUS POINTS FOR
Background or connection to the effective altruism / AI safety community
Prior experience with CRM tools, grant writing, or nonprofit operations
Sales, business development, or events background
Technical background (CS, engineering, or similar) or fluency reading AI/ML research
Experience with government or foundation grant applications
Salary range from $120k/year to $200k/year, depending on experience. We are prepared to offer a salary above this range for candidates who bring a particularly strong technical background.