Associate AI Security Resident

RAND•Washington, DC

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

RAND’s Center on AI, Security, and Technology (CAST), part of the Global and Emerging Risks (GER) Division, conducts cutting-edge research on transformative, high-impact technologies, including artificial intelligence and biotechnology, to shape policies that protect global security and advance the public good. This role will focus on securing AI systems, understanding their cyber capabilities, and examining their policy implications. The Associate AI Security Resident will lead complex projects involving technical research, policy analysis, and infrastructure development, such as creating AI-specific threat models, building software tools for AI cyber capability evaluations, or identifying critical areas for new security R&D. The work will inform analysis delivered to senior government and industry leaders, and results will be communicated to both technical and non-technical audiences through policy briefs and detailed research products. This position is a three-year appointment with options for renewal and potential longer-term employment at RAND.

Requirements

Excellent analytic skills.
Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing.
Ability to work effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary team.
Strong commitment to RAND's core values of quality and objectivity.
Technical experience in security engineering, software engineering, firmware engineering, hardware engineering, or related fields.
Technical management experience, including leading cross-functional teams, managing project budgets, and mentoring and developing team members.
Demonstrated ability to successfully lead complex projects to completion.
Proficiency in Python, Java, C/C++, or other popular programming languages.
Ability to develop rigorous and comprehensive threat models and identify potential system vulnerabilities.
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, tailored to technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to reason about policy options given different technical considerations.
Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.
Fluency with MS Office suite.

Nice To Haves

Graduate of the Computer Network Operations Development Program (CNODP), Remote Interactive Operator Training (RIOT), Future Operator Readiness Growth and Enrichment (FORGE), or equivalent experience.
Experience with red team operations or offensive cyber capabilities development.
Understanding of advanced persistent threat (APT) tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and experience with defending against them.
Ability to think creatively about offensive and/or defensive techniques and strategies, beyond compliance with existing regulations.
Familiarity with U.S. cybersecurity agencies, authorities, and policy development processes.
Experience working in or with government on cybersecurity policy.
Experience with advising non-technical stakeholders on security topics.
Familiarity with the AI/ML hardware stack (e.g., GPUs, TPUs, data center design).
Familiarity with the AI/ML software stack (e.g., CUDA, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Ray).
Experience working on AI research, ML model training, or model deployment.
Experience with securing AI systems.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government clearance.

Responsibilities

Leading complex projects that span technical research, policy analysis, and infrastructure development.
Developing AI-specific threat models.
Building software tools for AI cyber capability evaluations.
Identifying critical areas for new security R&D.
Communicating results to both technical and non-technical audiences through quick-turnaround policy briefs and detailed written research products.