Remote | PhD Biology AI Safety Consultant — $55–$65/hour

24-Mag • New York, NY

1d • Remote

About The Position

We are sharing a specialised part-time consulting opportunity for PhD-level biology and life sciences professionals with strong scientific reasoning, technical writing, and sound judgment around biosafety, biosecurity, and dual-use information. This role supports an AI safety initiative focused on improving how advanced models understand and respond to specialised life-science topics. Selected professionals will create expert-level prompts, evaluate model-generated responses for scientific accuracy and responsible handling of sensitive content, and apply structured guidelines across technical biology evaluations. Prior AI or machine-learning experience is not required, as project-specific training will be provided.

Requirements

• A completed or ongoing PhD in biology or a closely related life-science discipline
• Deep expertise in molecular biology, microbiology, virology, genetics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, immunology, or a related field
• Strong familiarity with modern laboratory or computational techniques relevant to their specialisation
• Excellent scientific reasoning and professional writing skills in English
• Sound judgment around biosafety, biosecurity, and responsible treatment of dual-use information
• Ability to evaluate complex technical material with accuracy and attention to detail
• Availability to contribute approximately 15–25 hours per week, with flexibility for up to 40 hours depending on project needs
• An ongoing or completed PhD in biology, molecular biology, microbiology, virology, genetics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, immunology, or a closely related life-science field is required
• Doctoral research involving laboratory, computational, or interdisciplinary biological methods is highly relevant
• Academic publications, research presentations, or advanced scientific writing experience may strengthen an application
• Postdoctoral, university, research-institute, or industry laboratory experience may also be valuable

Nice To Haves

• Research or coursework involving biosafety, biosecurity, pathogen biology, or dual-use research
• Familiarity with gain-of-function considerations and responsible scientific communication
• Experience reviewing, grading, editing, or assessing technical scientific content
• Background in scientific peer review, teaching, mentoring, or curriculum development
• Previous exposure to AI evaluation, red teaming, structured annotation, or model benchmarking
• Experience translating complex scientific concepts into clear written explanations
• Familiarity with interdisciplinary work spanning biology, computation, and research ethics

Responsibilities

• Write expert-level prompts covering advanced biology and life-science topics
• Develop technically rigorous scenarios grounded in current scientific knowledge and research practice
• Create prompts that assess scientific reasoning, factual accuracy, and responsible handling of sensitive information
• Ensure tasks reflect realistic laboratory, computational, and research contexts
• Review model-generated responses for scientific accuracy, completeness, and usefulness
• Identify factual errors, unsupported claims, methodological weaknesses, and misleading explanations
• Assess whether outputs demonstrate appropriate reasoning across complex life-science questions
• Provide clear written feedback supported by relevant scientific principles
• Evaluate how models respond to biosafety, biosecurity, pathogen-related, and dual-use topics
• Identify responses that require greater caution, contextualisation, or risk awareness
• Apply sound professional judgment to technically sensitive biological information
• Distinguish legitimate scientific discussion from content requiring additional safeguards
• Apply structured guidelines to classify prompts, responses, and conversations
• Annotate model outputs consistently across scientific and safety-related criteria
• Participate in calibration activities to maintain reliable evaluation standards
• Incorporate reviewer feedback and evolving project guidance into future assessments

Benefits

• Flexible remote work
• Flexible scheduling
• Competitive hourly compensation
• Weekly payments via Stripe or Wise
• Projects may be extended, shortened, or adjusted depending on scope and performance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree