Jobs

What they do: Secure AI Project develops and advocates for pragmatic policies to reduce risks of severe harm from advanced AI. Thus far, we’ve worked very closely with state legislators to pass some of the most comprehensive AI safety bills in the country: SB 53 in CA, the RAISE Act in NY, SB 315 in IL, and AB 1864 in CA. These laws apply to everyone doing business in CA, NY, and IL which includes all major AI developers. You can read more about bills we have supported.

Engagement: Full-time. Open to a fractional start that ultimately moves to full-time. 

Location: Remote, Washington DC or Berkeley CA. We prefer in-person candidates given how fast-moving and high-context our work is, but many of our staff work remotely with periodic team on-sites.  

The work to be done: 

• Own legal strategy and risk for our 501(c)(4) and affiliated 501(c)(3). Advise leadership on the legal questions that shape strategy, and help us scope new initiatives before we launch them: what the legal exposure is, how likely and costly it would be, and what structures get us most of the upside at an acceptable level of risk.

• Build a legal function that enables rapid and adaptable decision-making. This includes developing clear, reusable guidance (policies, templates, rules of thumb) that give staff the tools they need to handle routine questions on their own, plus fast access to you for everything else. 

• Make legal risk legible. Turn legal ambiguities into estimates we can act on (likelihood x cost). Show the reasoning and key assumptions so we can weigh tradeoffs together rather than deferring to an opinion.

• Give fast, decision-ready advice. We regularly face questions that can be urgent and complex, for example:

  • How should we structure our NY lobbying activities to simultaneously comply with 501(c)(3)/501(c)(4) regulations, and also NY lobbying disclosure laws, while minimizing burdens on our donors?

  • SAIP is organizing a meeting with staff at AI companies to discuss a safety standard (relating to chain of thought monitorability). What do we need to do to avoid triggering anti-trust concerns, and how can we answer questions employees may have about that?

  • A potential whistleblower has reached out to us. How do we direct them to the right channels and protections?

• Manage lobbying compliance such that it is a low burden task for our team. Our team has to comply with a myriad of state and federal lobbying compliance laws that require regular and consistent reporting. We want to build systems that make compliance easy for staff so they can focus on the mission.

• Fundamentals. You’d own corporate and regulatory compliance for both entities, employment matters across multiple states, contracts with vendors, and anything else we sign.

• Litigation preparedness & response. As AI becomes even more salient and controversial, we expect increased risk of subpoenas and lawsuits. You’ll lead on preparedness including policies for document retention, communications practices, insurance, and response playbooks so we’re ready before it happens. 

• Manage our relationships with outside counsel. Decide what to handle in-house and what to send out, get what we need from firms efficiently, and keep track of which firms across which specialties are actually adding value. A strong GC here should make our outside-counsel spend more effective, not just bigger.

• Help vet the legislation we draft (depending on background and interest). We draft a lot of bill language with external counsel, and a sharp legal second read on drafts would be valuable.

Compensation: $250,000–$350,000 full-time, prorated if fractional hire

Benefits: 100% covered gold/platinum grade health insurance for employees and their dependents. Dental, vision, life insurance, and OneMedical membership. Five weeks of PTO per year. Three months of fully paid family leave. An 8% unconditional 401k grant (not match). A generous professional development stipend and equipment budget.

Here's the doc we share externally regarding working at SAIP.

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