Operations Associate

San Francisco, CA
Operations /
Full-Time /
On-site
The Center for AI Safety (CAIS) is a leading research and field-building organization on a mission to reduce societal-scale risks from AI. Alongside our sister organization, the CAIS Action Fund, we tackle the toughest AI issues with a mix of technical, societal and policy solutions. Our work includes publishing a global statement on AI Risk signed by Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio and CEOs from the major AI labs and running a large compute cluster for global academic researchers working on AI safety research. Our founder and Director, Dan Hendrycks, is a leading AI researcher and AI Safety Advisor to xAI.

The Operations Associate plays a key role in supporting CAIS's organizational efficiency and culture by overseeing office operations, event planning, and executive support. This role requires a proactive and detail-oriented individual who can manage essential tasks across HR, finance, technology, office management, and team culture.

In this role you will:

    • Oversee general office management, including ordering supplies, managing food and snack orders, handling mail and deliveries, and ensuring the office is equipped for daily operations.
    • Coordinate employee onboarding and offboarding processes, including managing contracts, account setups, and workspace arrangements to ensure a seamless first and last day for team members.
    • Manage software access and general technical assistance for all employees.
    • Support financial processes, including expense reviews, reimbursements, and audit preparation.
    • Assist with legal processes, such as visa management, corporate filings, and other compliance tasks.
    • Foster a positive team culture by organizing birthday and milestone celebrations, planning team events, and gathering employee feedback.
    • Collaborate with the Operations Manager to develop, implement, and communicate operational policies and standards across the organization.
    • Organize logistics for events and workshops, coordinating timelines, venues, travel, and catering as needed.
    • Provide research and administrative support to field-building, operations, and executive staff.

We're looking for someone who is great at:

    • Communicating clearly; ensuring systems and processes are easily understood and accessible to everyone on the team.
    • Managing all details meticulously while keeping the broader vision in mind.
    • Thriving in an autonomous role while welcoming feedback and new ideas; always striving to reach the best solutions even when challenges arise.
    • Working with a diverse set of team members and supporting their individual needs while maintaining efficiency for the organization.

You might thrive in this role if you:

    • Have a strong organizational standard, have high attention to detail, and are great at problem solving.
    • Have experience in operational support, especially in dynamic environments like startups.
    • Are able to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.
    • Are comfortable with technology.
    • Are open to new ideas and feedback, honest with yourself and others; at CAIS, even when it’s slightly uncomfortable, we prioritize getting to the best answer.
    • Are motivated by work that is focused on AI safety and risk.

Benefits:

    • Health insurance for you and your dependents
    • 401K plan + 4% matching
    • Unlimited PTO
    • Lunch and dinner at the office
    • Annual Professional Development Stipend
    • Access to some of the top talent working on technical and conceptual research in AI safety
$70,000 - $90,000 a year
The Center of AI Safety is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The Center for AI Safety values candidates of all backgrounds. If you find yourself excited by the position but you don't check every box in the description, we encourage you to apply anyway!