Principal Biology Specialist
Core
Lead a specialized domain pod to prevent state-of-the-art AI systems from lowering technical barriers to the creation or proliferation of biological weapons and catastrophic risks by providing definitive ground truth for automated safety classifiers.
Role type
Principal Biology Specialist (Senior IC with team leadership)
Builds
AI safety classifiers and refusal mechanisms for frontier AI research
Domain
Artificial Intelligence Safety / Biosecurity / Life Sciences
Deliverable
production ML models
Required skills
Microbiology, Virology, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Synthetic Biology, Biosecurity, CBRN analysis, Dual-use assessment, Regulatory compliance (BWC, Select Agent Program), Technical leadership, Risk assessment
Preferred skills
DoD/DTRA/HHS/CDC/USAMRIID experience, Security clearance, Computational biology misuse evaluation, High-containment lab experience (BSL-3/BSL-4)
Technologies
AI safety classifiers, Automated detection systems
Responsibilities
Act as final escalation authority on ambiguous high-consequence biological threat cases; Establish adjudication frameworks distinguishing legitimate research from catastrophic misuse; Deliver high-fidelity ground-truth labels to validate and fine-tune automated AI safety classifiers; Refine investigative playbooks and labeling taxonomies aligned with international biological conventions; Lead and mentor a pod of Senior and Junior Biology Specialists; Synthesize technical findings into actionable risk memos for client biosecurity leads
Seniority
Principal, hands-on IC with mentorship
