Application Guide

How to Apply for Head of Engineering (Research)

at Far.Ai

🏢 About Far.Ai

FAR.AI is a non-profit AI research institute founded in July 2022 that has rapidly grown to 30+ staff while producing over 40 influential academic papers. What makes FAR.AI unique is its mission-driven focus on AI safety research specifically, aiming to ensure advanced AI is safe and beneficial for everyone through breakthrough research and global coordination efforts. Someone might want to work here to be at the forefront of AI safety research in an impact-driven environment that's growing quickly while maintaining research quality.

About This Role

This Head of Engineering (Research) role involves scaling FAR.AI's technical team from 15 to 30 staff across 3 to 5 research pods during a critical growth phase. The role is 90% focused on building, managing, and scaling the technical team with minimal individual contributor work (10%), making it impactful because you'll be enabling one of the world's leading AI safety research teams to rapidly test and iterate on new ideas while maintaining high quality. You'll serve as the key connector between internal FAR.AI divisions and manage relationships with external stakeholders including leading AI companies and government AI safety institutes.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might involve morning check-ins with research pod leads to align on priorities, implementing or refining project management systems to enable rapid iteration, and afternoon meetings with external stakeholders like AI companies or government institutes. You'd spend significant time on hiring and team development as you scale from 15 to 30 technical staff, while ensuring research quality standards are maintained across growing teams.

🚀 Application Tools

Generate Cover Letter

AI-powered, tailored for Far.Ai

Interview Prep

Practice questions for this role

🎯 Who Far.Ai Is Looking For

  • An experienced technical leader with proven success scaling engineering/research teams from 15-30+ people in fast-growing environments
  • Someone with excellent people and project management systems experience who can implement processes that enable rapid iteration while maintaining research quality
  • A leader comfortable with 90% management/10% IC split who can be the 'glue' between research pods and external stakeholders
  • Someone passionate about AI safety who understands the unique challenges of managing technical teams in a research-focused non-profit environment

📝 Tips for Applying to Far.Ai

1

Highlight specific experience scaling technical teams from 15-30 people, preferably in research or AI environments

2

Demonstrate understanding of FAR.AI's specific mission by referencing their published papers or public positions on AI safety

3

Show how you've implemented people/project management systems that enabled rapid iteration while maintaining quality in previous roles

4

Emphasize experience managing stakeholder relationships with both internal divisions and external partners (AI companies, government institutes)

5

Address how you balance the 90% management/10% IC split in your leadership approach

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your specific experience scaling technical teams through similar growth phases (15-30 people)', 'Examples of implementing management systems that enabled rapid iteration while maintaining quality', "Your understanding of AI safety research challenges and why FAR.AI's mission resonates with you", "How you've successfully managed relationships between technical teams and external stakeholders"]

Generate Cover Letter →

🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Read FAR.AI's published papers (40+ mentioned) to understand their research focus and quality standards
  • → Research their growth trajectory since July 2022 and current organizational structure
  • → Understand their partnerships with AI companies and government AI safety institutes
  • → Learn about their specific AI safety research priorities and how they differ from other AI safety organizations

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Walk me through how you would scale from 3 to 5 research pods while maintaining research quality
2 Describe your approach to implementing people and project management systems for rapid iteration
3 How would you manage relationships with external stakeholders like AI companies and government safety institutes?
4 What metrics would you use to measure success in this role at FAR.AI?
5 How do you balance the 90% management/10% IC split in your leadership style?
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing too much on individual contributor engineering work rather than team scaling and management
  • Generic AI experience without specific understanding of AI safety research challenges
  • Not demonstrating understanding of FAR.AI's non-profit, mission-driven culture and research focus

📅 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 Far.Ai!

← Back to Job Listing Apply Now →