Application Guide

How to Apply for Cybersecurity Engineer

at AI Security Institute (AISI)

🏢 About AI Security Institute (AISI)

The AI Security Institute (AISI) is a specialized organization focused exclusively on evaluating and improving the cybersecurity capabilities of AI systems. Unlike traditional cybersecurity firms, AISI works at the intersection of AI safety and offensive security, creating novel evaluation frameworks for frontier models. This unique mission makes it an ideal workplace for cybersecurity professionals passionate about shaping the future of AI safety through hands-on technical challenges.

About This Role

This Cybersecurity Engineer role involves designing cyber ranges and CTF-style challenges specifically for evaluating AI systems' performance on cybersecurity tasks. You'll build agentic scaffolding that equips AI models with real security tools (like packet capture utilities and penetration testing frameworks) and contribute to scalable evaluation environments. The role directly impacts AI safety by creating rigorous testing methodologies that help identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities in advanced AI systems.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might involve designing new CTF challenges tailored for AI agents, writing Python scripts to automate security tool integration into evaluation frameworks, and collaborating with engineers to ensure testing environments remain robust under heavy AI model loads. You'll likely spend time analyzing AI system performance on cybersecurity tasks and documenting findings for research papers or stakeholder reports.

🚀 Application Tools

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who AI Security Institute (AISI) Is Looking For

  • A Python expert who has written automation scripts for security tooling, particularly for penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, or CTF challenge automation
  • Has hands-on experience in at least two of: designing cyber ranges, creating CTF challenges, developing automated security testing tools, or vulnerability research/exploit development
  • Demonstrates genuine interest in AI safety through previous projects, research, or contributions to AI security communities
  • Has practical experience with virtualization technologies (VMware, VirtualBox, Docker, or cloud-based virtualization) for creating isolated testing environments

📝 Tips for Applying to AI Security Institute (AISI)

1

Include specific examples of Python scripts you've written for security automation—link to GitHub repositories or describe the problem, solution, and impact

2

Detail your experience with cyber range design or CTF challenge creation, emphasizing how you balanced realism with scalability for automated evaluation

3

Highlight any previous work at the intersection of AI and security, such as testing ML models for vulnerabilities or using AI for security tasks

4

Demonstrate your understanding of AI safety by referencing specific frameworks, research papers, or methodologies in your application materials

5

Showcase experience with the specific tools mentioned (network packet capture utilities, penetration testing frameworks, reverse engineering tools) and how you've integrated them into automated workflows

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your specific experience designing cybersecurity evaluation environments or challenges that could be adapted for AI system testing', 'Examples of Python automation projects that improved security testing efficiency or scalability', 'Your perspective on how AI systems should be evaluated for cybersecurity capabilities and potential safety implications', "Why you're specifically interested in AISI's mission of evaluating frontier models rather than traditional cybersecurity roles"]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → AISI's published research papers or blog posts on AI security evaluation methodologies
  • → The specific tools and frameworks mentioned in the job description (network packet capture utilities, penetration testing frameworks) and how they're typically used in automated testing
  • → Current trends in AI safety and cybersecurity evaluation, particularly for agentic AI systems
  • → How other organizations approach AI security testing and where AISI might have unique methodologies or focus areas

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Walk me through how you would design a cyber range challenge to test an AI model's ability to perform network reconnaissance
2 Describe a Python script you've written to automate a security testing workflow and how you would adapt it for agentic AI evaluation
3 How would you balance realism versus scalability when creating CTF-style challenges for automated grading of AI systems?
4 What virtualization approach would you use to create isolated, reproducible testing environments for evaluating multiple AI models simultaneously?
5 How do you see the unique security risks posed by frontier AI models, and what evaluation methodologies are most important for addressing them?
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing only on defensive cybersecurity experience without demonstrating offensive security or red-teaming skills
  • Providing generic Python experience without specific examples of security automation or tool development
  • Showing interest in AI generally but not demonstrating specific knowledge of AI safety or security evaluation challenges

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to AI Security Institute (AISI)!

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