How to apply for Senior Researcher, Civil Safety Sciences

About Future of Life Institute

The Future of Life Institute is a nonprofit focused on reducing global catastrophic and existential risks, especially from advanced AI. CARMA, its Center for AI Risk Management & Alignment, works to help society navigate catastrophic risks from increasingly powerful AI systems. This is a place for people who want to work on risks that governments and established fields are not yet organized to address.

About the role

As a senior researcher in the Civil Safety Sciences program, you will help shape a portfolio that advances detection sciences, response protocols, and resilience technologies for novel hazard classes. You will work under the Executive Director with significant intellectual autonomy, running projects and coordinating dispersed researchers into a coherent field. The role is remote with occasional travel to labs and research groups for technical discussions and demonstrations.

A typical day

A typical day might involve reviewing research proposals, writing or editing program documents, and holding video calls with dispersed researchers to coordinate work. You might also prepare for or debrief from a visit to a laboratory or research group for technical discussions and demonstrations. Ask the Executive Director during interviews how time is typically split between portfolio shaping, coordination, and travel.

Who Future of Life Institute is looking for

• Has deep scientific or technical expertise in at least one area relevant to detection, resilience, or safety technologies, and can evaluate research across adjacent fields.
• Can anticipate novel hazard classes that fall outside established CBRN-and-cyber playbooks and design research programs to address them.
• Has experience running projects independently, coordinating researchers across institutions, and turning fragmented efforts into a coherent field.
• Is comfortable working remotely, traveling occasionally to labs, and engaging in technical discussions and demonstrations with research groups.

Tips for this application

• Read the full CARMA and Future of Life Institute websites before writing anything. Refer to specific programs or publications to show you understand their approach to AI risk.
• In your materials, name concrete hazard classes or detection gaps you think are underexplored. The job description stresses anticipating novel hazards, so show that skill directly.
• Describe projects you have run with significant autonomy. Include how you coordinated researchers across institutions or disciplines.
• Explain how your technical background connects to detection sciences, response protocols, or resilience technologies. Avoid vague statements about caring about existential risk.
• Address the remote and travel aspects. Note your willingness to visit labs and research groups for technical discussions and demonstrations.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your specific scientific or technical expertise and how it applies to civil safety sciences, detection, or resilience.', 'A concrete example of anticipating or identifying a novel hazard class that existing playbooks do not cover.', 'Experience running projects independently and coordinating dispersed researchers into a coherent effort.', 'Why you want to work under the Executive Director at CARMA specifically, and how you would shape the Civil Safety Sciences portfolio.']

Research before applying

• Read the Future of Life Institute website, especially its work on existential risk from advanced AI.
• Study CARMA's mission and any published materials on AI risk management and alignment.
• Look for any public descriptions of the Civil Safety Sciences program or related CARMA projects.
• Find recent publications, talks, or statements by the Executive Director and CARMA staff to understand their priorities.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• Which novel hazard classes do you think fall outside current CBRN-and-cyber playbooks, and how would you build a research program around one?
• How would you advance detection sciences or resilience technologies for a hazard where no scientific community yet exists?
• Describe a time you ran a project with significant intellectual autonomy. How did you set direction and measure progress?
• How would you coordinate dispersed researchers across institutions to function as a coherent field?
• Which safety technologies, if matured earlier, could shift the offense-defense balance, and how would you identify them?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing a generic cover letter about AI safety without referencing CARMA, Civil Safety Sciences, or the specific focus on novel hazard classes.
• Claiming expertise in detection or resilience without concrete examples of projects, methods, or results.
• Ignoring the remote and travel requirements, or implying you cannot visit labs and research groups periodically.