Application Guide
How to Apply for Fellows, AI Safety and Security
at Anthropic
🏢 About Anthropic
Anthropic is a frontier AI research and product company dedicated to building reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. They are known for their focus on AI safety and alignment, and their unique approach to responsible AI development makes them a standout in the industry.
About This Role
This fellowship offers a 4-month full-time empirical research project in AI safety or security, with direct mentorship from Anthropic researchers. You'll work on high-impact problems like scalable oversight or mechanistic interpretability, and produce a public research output, making it a unique opportunity to contribute to the field while learning from top experts.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve meeting with your mentor to discuss progress, running experiments on AI models, reading recent research papers, and coding up new interpretability or oversight methods. You'll likely spend time analyzing results, writing up findings, and iterating on your approach based on feedback.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Anthropic Is Looking For
- Strong background in machine learning, with hands-on experience in empirical research (e.g., running experiments, building models).
- Familiarity with AI safety topics such as interpretability, alignment, or robustness, and a genuine interest in these areas.
- Ability to work independently and iterate quickly on research ideas based on feedback.
- Excellent communication skills, both for writing research papers and collaborating with mentors.
📝 Tips for Applying to Anthropic
Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight any previous research projects, especially those related to AI safety or security, even if they were personal or academic.
Show concrete examples of your empirical research skills, such as GitHub repos, papers, or blog posts that demonstrate your ability to run experiments and analyze results.
In your cover letter, explicitly mention how your skills align with Anthropic's priorities and the specific research areas mentioned (e.g., scalable oversight, mechanistic interpretability).
If you have any experience with interpretability tools or safety evaluations, be sure to highlight it, as this is directly relevant to the fellowship.
Research Anthropic's recent publications and blog posts, and reference specific ideas or projects in your application to show genuine interest and understanding.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
["Emphasize your passion for AI safety and your alignment with Anthropic's mission to ensure AI benefits humanity.", "Highlight your empirical research experience, providing specific examples of projects you've led or contributed to.", "Mention any relevant technical skills (e.g., PyTorch, transformer models) and how you've used them in research.", "Explain why you're interested in this specific fellowship and how it fits into your long-term career goals in AI safety."]
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Read Anthropic's recent papers on interpretability, such as 'Towards Monosemanticity' or their work on scalable oversight.
- → Explore Anthropic's blog posts and public statements about their research philosophy and safety approach.
- → Familiarize yourself with their team structure and the researchers you might be working with, especially in the alignment and interpretability groups.
- → Look into any open-source tools or datasets Anthropic has released, and consider how you might use them in your own research.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Avoid generic cover letters that don't reference Anthropic's specific work or the fellowship details.
- Don't focus solely on theoretical interest without demonstrating practical research skills; show you can actually run experiments.
- Avoid being vague about your research interests; be specific about what you want to work on and why it matters.
📅 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:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!