Application Guide

How to Apply for Head of Talent Operations

at Kairos

🏢 About Kairos

Kairos is a mission-driven AI safety fieldbuilding organization focused on mitigating risks from advanced AI by strategically filling talent gaps. As a lean, high-impact team scaling from 7 to 20, you'll have outsized influence in shaping the talent pipeline for the entire AI safety ecosystem.

About This Role

This role combines internal recruiting, ecosystem headhunting, and grantmaking to build Kairos's talent operations from the ground up. You'll own the full hiring pipeline, place early-career talent into high-impact AI safety roles, and allocate funding to catalyze career transitions—directly shaping the field's growth.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your morning might start by reviewing hiring pipeline metrics and prioritizing outreach to potential candidates for open roles. Midday, you could meet with an AI safety organization to discuss their talent needs and identify placement opportunities. Afternoons might involve evaluating grant applications for the Career Development Fund or refining the onboarding process for new Kairos hires.

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🎯 Who Kairos Is Looking For

  • Has 3+ years of experience in talent operations, recruiting, or ecosystem building specifically within AI safety or effective altruism (EA).
  • Proven ability to build relationships with AI safety organizations and early-career talent, with a network in the EA/AI safety community.
  • Data-driven and systematic, with experience designing hiring pipelines, maintaining data quality, and making evidence-based grantmaking decisions.
  • Comfortable working autonomously in a remote, fast-paced startup environment; adaptable to shifting priorities as the organization scales.

📝 Tips for Applying to Kairos

1

Highlight specific examples of placing candidates into AI safety or EA roles, including any metrics on retention or impact.

2

Demonstrate your understanding of the AI safety talent landscape—name key organizations (e.g., MIRI, Anthropic, GovAI) and current bottlenecks.

3

Show how you've used data to improve hiring processes or grantmaking decisions, e.g., tracking conversion rates or fund ROI.

4

Mention any experience with grantmaking or fund management, especially if you've evaluated applicants for career development funding.

5

Tailor your cover letter to Kairos's mission: explain why you're personally invested in AI safety and how this role accelerates that goal.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Your alignment with Kairos's mission to mitigate AI risk by strengthening the talent pipeline.", 'Concrete examples of recruiting or ecosystem building in AI safety/EA, including relationships with key organizations.', 'Your ability to balance internal hiring (scaling Kairos) with external placement (ecosystem headhunting) and grantmaking.', 'Your data-driven approach to talent operations, with examples of process design and outcome measurement.']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Read Kairos's website (kairos-project.org) and understand their theory of change for AI safety fieldbuilding.
  • → Familiarize yourself with the AI safety talent landscape: key organizations, common career paths, and current gaps (e.g., via 80,000 Hours).
  • → Review the Career Development and Transition Fund details if available; understand its goals and past grantees.
  • → Look at Kairos's team page to understand the current team composition and how this role fits into the org structure.
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💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How would you design the hiring pipeline for Kairos as it scales from 7 to 20? Walk through stages, metrics, and stakeholder management.
2 Describe a time you placed a candidate into a high-impact AI safety role. What was your process and what was the outcome?
3 How would you evaluate grant applications for the Career Development and Transition Fund? What criteria would you use?
4 How do you build and maintain relationships with AI safety organizations while also headhunting their talent?
5 What data would you track to measure the success of talent operations, and how would you ensure data quality across the organization?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Submitting a generic cover letter that doesn't mention AI safety or effective altruism—this role is deeply mission-specific.
  • Focusing only on internal recruiting without showing interest in ecosystem building and grantmaking.
  • Overlooking the data aspect: failing to provide examples of using metrics to improve talent processes.

📅 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 Kairos!

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