Application Guide
How to Apply for Founding Head of Biosecurity
at Lyptus Research
🏢 About Lyptus Research
Lyptus Research is an AI safety research group based in Australia, focused on understanding and mitigating risks from advanced AI systems. Unlike many AI safety organizations that focus purely on technical alignment, Lyptus is launching a biosecurity research team to empirically evaluate how emerging AI could enable biological weapons development—a critical and underexplored area. Working here means shaping a new field at the intersection of AI and biosecurity, with the backing of a nimble, mission-driven organization.
About This Role
As the Founding Head of Biosecurity, you will set the scientific direction for wet-lab research and steer multi-organisation research strategy across the field. You will build and manage a senior science team while conducting rigorous experimental work on AI biosecurity risks, operating in a high-ambiguity environment with no established playbook. This is a rare opportunity to define an entire research agenda, balancing urgency against scientific rigor, and to make a tangible impact on global biosecurity.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve designing a wet-lab experiment to test AI-generated biological protocols, meeting with senior scientists to review progress and troubleshoot, and engaging with external partners to align research priorities. You might also spend time reading the latest AI capabilities papers and translating them into biosecurity risk hypotheses, all while managing the ambiguity of a new field and balancing urgent threats against the need for rigorous, reproducible science.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Lyptus Research Is Looking For
- PhD in virology, microbiology, synthetic biology, or a related field, with deep hands-on wet-lab expertise in pathogen research or biosecurity.
- Proven track record of leading scientific teams or programmes, including setting research direction, managing senior scientists, and delivering results in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
- Familiarity with AI safety, AI capabilities, or the intersection of AI and biosecurity, or a strong willingness to rapidly acquire this knowledge.
- Experience working across organizations or in multi-stakeholder research initiatives, with excellent communication skills to align diverse partners.
📝 Tips for Applying to Lyptus Research
Highlight specific wet-lab projects you've led, especially those involving pathogen characterization, genetic engineering, or biosecurity risk assessment—detail the experimental design and outcomes.
Demonstrate your ability to build and manage teams: quantify team size, roles, and achievements, and describe how you've navigated high-ambiguity situations without a playbook.
Show familiarity with AI safety and biosecurity risks by referencing key papers, reports, or initiatives (e.g., work by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, or AI safety organizations like MIRI or Anthropic).
Address the fractional-to-full-time transition explicitly: express enthusiasm for starting part-time and scaling, and explain how you'd prioritize early deliverables.
Tailor your cover letter to Lyptus Research's mission: explain why AI-enabled bioweapons are a critical threat and how your background uniquely positions you to lead this new team.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
Emphasize your vision for a biosecurity research agenda at the AI-biosecurity interface, including how you'd prioritize experiments and partnerships. Highlight your experience leading senior scientists and managing multi-organisation collaborations. Demonstrate your ability to operate in high-ambiguity environments by giving concrete examples of building programmes from scratch. Finally, articulate why Lyptus Research is the ideal place to pursue this work and how you'd leverage its AI safety expertise.
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Explore Lyptus Research's website and any published work to understand their current AI safety research focus and how biosecurity fits into their mission.
- → Review key reports on AI biosecurity risks, such as the 'AI and Biosecurity' literature from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) or the Nuclear Threat Initiative's biosecurity papers.
- → Identify major biosecurity research groups and initiatives in Australia (e.g., CSIRO, Australian National University) to understand the local landscape and potential collaborators.
- → Look into recent advances in AI for protein design and pathogen research (e.g., AlphaFold, generative models for biology) to speak credibly about emerging risks.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Focusing only on wet-lab expertise without demonstrating strategic leadership or team-building experience—this role requires both.
- Ignoring the AI component: candidates who dismiss AI's role in biosecurity or show no interest in learning about AI risks will not stand out.
- Being inflexible about the fractional start: emphasizing only full-time availability or reluctance to start part-time could disqualify you, as the role explicitly begins fractional.
📅 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!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Lyptus Research!