Application Guide
How to Apply for IT and Security Manager
at FAR AI
🏢 About FAR AI
FAR AI is a nonprofit AI safety organization that incubates and accelerates research agendas too resource-intensive for academia but not yet ready for commercialisation. Working here means directly supporting cutting-edge AI safety research in a mission-driven, remote-first environment where your IT and security work has a tangible impact on the future of trustworthy AI.
About This Role
As the IT and Security Manager, you will own the entire IT operations and security infrastructure for a growing AI safety nonprofit, from managing accounts and devices to remediating security gaps and building self-serve systems. You'll also hire and manage an IT Coordinator, making this a hands-on leadership role that scales with the organization. Your work will directly enable researchers to focus on AI safety without worrying about security or IT friction.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve reviewing and responding to security alerts, onboarding a new researcher with device and account setup, automating a manual IT process, and meeting with the Operations team to discuss vendor risk assessments. You might also spend time interviewing candidates for the IT Coordinator role or planning how to scale identity management as the team grows. The work is varied, autonomous, and directly supports FAR AI's mission.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who FAR AI Is Looking For
- Has 5+ years of experience in IT operations and security, ideally in a remote-first or high-growth environment, with hands-on expertise in identity management (e.g., Okta, Google Workspace), endpoint security (e.g., MDM, EDR), and access control.
- Demonstrated ability to identify and remediate security gaps, including vendor risk assessments, data protection, and endpoint hardening, with a proactive and pragmatic approach.
- Experience building automation and self-service tools (e.g., using scripting, no-code tools, or APIs) to reduce manual IT workload and improve team efficiency.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to integrate security into research, operations, and communications workflows without creating bottlenecks.
- Prior experience hiring, managing, or mentoring junior IT staff is a plus, as is familiarity with compliance frameworks relevant to nonprofits or research organizations.
📝 Tips for Applying to FAR AI
Highlight any experience you have in nonprofit, research, or mission-driven organizations, as FAR AI values candidates who understand the unique constraints and culture of such environments.
Showcase specific projects where you remediated security gaps or built self-serve IT infrastructure—quantify the impact (e.g., reduced manual tickets by X%, improved security posture).
Demonstrate familiarity with AI safety or broader AI ethics topics in your application; even if you're not a researcher, showing alignment with FAR AI's mission will set you apart.
Emphasize your ability to work autonomously in a remote setting and your experience managing IT for distributed teams, including device management and remote onboarding/offboarding.
If you have managed or hired IT staff before, describe how you structured the role and enabled their success, as this position includes hiring an IT Coordinator.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
In your cover letter, focus on: (1) your hands-on experience in IT operations and security, with concrete examples of remediating gaps and building scalable systems; (2) your ability to work cross-functionally and integrate security into non-technical workflows; (3) your alignment with FAR AI's mission and why you want to support AI safety research; and (4) your approach to leadership and hiring, specifically how you would onboard and manage an IT Coordinator to support organizational growth.
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Read FAR AI's website and recent publications to understand their research agendas and the specific AI safety challenges they address.
- → Research common security challenges in AI research organizations, such as protecting sensitive models, data, and intellectual property in a collaborative environment.
- → Look into FAR AI's team and org structure to understand who you'd be working with and how IT/security currently fits in.
- → Explore FAR AI's public statements or blog posts about their remote culture and values to tailor your application to their work style.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Avoid generic security experience that doesn't address the unique needs of a nonprofit AI research organization—show you understand their context.
- Don't focus solely on technical skills; FAR AI needs someone who can collaborate across teams and communicate security concepts to non-experts.
- Avoid suggesting overly bureaucratic or restrictive security measures that could hinder research productivity; demonstrate a pragmatic, enabling approach.
📅 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!