Special Projects Associate

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The Center for AI Safety (CAIS) is a leading research and advocacy organization focused on mitigating societal-scale risks from AI. We address AI’s toughest challenges through technical research, field-building initiatives, and policy engagement.

The Special Projects Associate partners closely with the Executive Director and Managing Director to identify, evaluate, and launch new initiatives at the earliest stages of CAIS’s project pipeline. You’ll lead the full lifecycle—investigating new opportunities, drafting clear project briefs, building timelines and budgets, and driving delivery through our project-management system.

Key Functions & Responsibilities :

• Partner with the Executive Director to generate and rapidly evaluate new project ideas
• Conduct preliminary research—interviews, literature reviews, competitive scans—to define clear goals, scope, and success metrics
• Work with the Managing Director to build detailed project plans (objectives, deliverables, timelines, resources, budgets)
• Independently ramp up in new domains by consulting experts and synthesizing available research and data
• Own day-to-day execution, ensuring projects stay on scope, on time, and on budget
• Monitor risks and obstacles; escalate critical issues to the Managing Director with recommended solutions
• Maintain up-to-date project records in our project-management system, producing concise status reports for leadership
• Stay agile when requirements change—re-prioritizing tasks and adjusting timelines as needed
• Coordinate smoothly with researchers, vendors, and other external partners to secure inputs and approvals
• Track budgets and resource utilization, flagging variances early and aligning spending with CAIS’s financial goals
• Draft or review key communications (updates, launch materials, partner announcements) to ensure messaging is clear and mission-aligned

Required Knowledge And Experience :

The Center for AI Safety is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, medical condition, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Benefits :

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