Operations Staff

Resolution•Berkeley, CA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Resolution is a research organization focused on aligning artificial superintelligence (ASI), with the goal of ensuring safe outcomes as ASI development progresses. The organization is scaling rapidly from its founding in May 2026 to over 60 staff within six months, operating across multiple research areas and countries. Resolution is seeking to build a strong operations team to support this growth, treating operations as a craft and aiming for staff to do the best work of their careers. Joining now offers a unique opportunity to shape the company's systems, culture, and strategy. The operations team will tackle novel problems related to scaling an alignment organization, including automation, federation of research teams, and capital allocation, particularly concerning compute resources. Operators will focus on 1-2 areas but are expected to identify and solve problems outside their official scope, with the aim of becoming world-class in their chosen fields. Responsibilities will evolve with organizational growth and AI advancements. The company is hiring for various roles across research operations, business operations, and other essential functions.

Requirements

Operational track record: history of improving processes, projects, or programs; ability to structure ambiguous problems, manage concurrent tasks, and avoid dropping balls.
Entrepreneurial mindset: ability to move quickly towards ambitious goals, identify and fix problems outside of remit, operate without a perfect playbook, and adapt to changing plans.
Clear, concise communication: ability to distill complex ideas verbally and in writing.
Transparent reasoning.
Drive to simplify: experience using tools like user guides, templates, no-code automations, software engineering, or AI to streamline complex processes and reduce the marginal cost of work.
Desire to learn: curiosity, eagerness to expand knowledge and skills, asking questions, flagging uncertainty, actively seeking and using feedback.
Motivation for ASI alignment: understanding of Resolution's mission and deep motivation to contribute.
Flexibility and willingness to pitch in wherever most useful.
Program strategy (for Research Operations): ability to take loosely scoped questions about research program building, identify key factors, and make well-reasoned recommendations.
Alignment research context (for Research Operations): ability to read and understand alignment research papers, explain their significance, and possess broad knowledge of the alignment ecosystem.
Thoughtful views on research culture (for Research Operations): ability to consider how research teams work and adapt structures from other contexts.
Technical communication skills (for Research Operations): ability to translate complex research into accessible blog posts and explain Resolution's approach to potential hires.
Strategic thinking and strong judgment (for Chief of Staff): ability to form strong views on problems, know when to defer, express confidence levels, and weigh evidence.
Interpersonally strong (for Chief of Staff, People): ability to build good working relationships, tailor messages, handle difficult conversations, and make colleagues feel supported and trusted.
Attention to detail, both qualitative and quantitative (for Finance): ability to understand legal requirements and manage complex data accurately.
Engineering mindset (for Finance): experience streamlining processes using tools like Airtable or Python.
Scenario-modelling skills (for Finance): ability to model open-ended questions, stress-test models, and derive recommendations; interest in financial and economic implications of AI.
Personable (for Recruiting): ability to quickly build rapport and make compelling pitches.
Good judgment about people (for Recruiting, People): calibrated views on candidates' strengths, weaknesses, and motivations; ability to read motivations and understand how factors like salary shape relationships.
Knowledge of the AI (alignment) ecosystem (for Recruiting): familiarity with the field to identify strong individuals.
Ability to understand details of dense written documents and summarize key takeaways, tradeoffs, and risks (for Legal Operations).
Broad tech knowledge and ability to quickly learn new tools/technologies (for IT Operations).
Care for practical and aesthetic details of work spaces and skill in improving them (for Office Management).
A bachelor's degree in a field relevant to the role, or an equivalent combination of education, training, or professional experience, plus an additional two years of relevant professional experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience running research events or programs, especially in AI safety.
Experience recruiting, sourcing, assessing, or closing candidates, and developed views on excellent recruiting.
Bonus: finance knowledge, especially about US nonprofits.
Bonus: recruiting experience.
Bonus: HR experience (familiarity with HR incidents, payroll, benefits, and visas).
Some legal experience.
Formal IT experience.

Responsibilities

Partner with Research Program Leads on team strategy, defining goals, building and structuring teams, and prioritizing efforts.
Build and run research review processes, including seminars, lightning talks, leadership reviews, and publication approvals.
Manage research communications, working with researchers to translate technical results into blog posts and announcements.
Organize research events such as workshops and talks, and assist with conference presence.
Maintain relationships with frontier companies, external research collaborators, and potential hires.
Grow research teams by working with Research and Recruiting on expansion plans, hiring strategies, and assessment methods.
Design, pitch, and run new projects like grantmaking, fellowships, or visiting researcher programs.
Serve as a thought partner and trusted advisor to the Chief Scientist, providing strategic views on research, organizational design, and policy.
Prioritize the Chief Scientist's time across quarters, weeks, and days, handling tasks from high-level priorities to triaging requests.
Identify and solve organizational-level problems, such as improving 1-1s, inter-program interactions, or automation blockers.
Draft, edit, and publish content on behalf of the Chief Scientist, including external blog posts, outreach messages, and internal memos.
Grow the executive office by assisting with onboarding new leadership (CEO, COO, CTO) and building necessary structures.
Ensure compliance with grantmaker and jurisdictional obligations, including preparing for audits and fundraising budgets.
Manage staff purchases for tools, equipment, and travel, ensuring security through well-designed financial systems and controls.
Forecast and recommend spending under various scenarios, considering compute costs, ASI timelines, and funding opportunities.
Secure compute resources creatively, partnering with engineering on buy vs. rent decisions, capacity planning, and sourcing discounts.
Manage assets to ensure unspent funds appreciate, considering options like stock donations.
Source and pitch excellent candidates, either directly or through hiring managers.
Run a fast and accurate assessment process, including scheduling interviews, coordinating grading, making initial decisions, and updating candidates.
Develop methods to evaluate candidates' skills, not their AI's, while still testing for automation capabilities.
Close offers quickly and with a high success rate.
Design new hiring systems and approaches, developing informed views on effective hiring practices.
Develop and implement systems for visas, payroll, benefits, and onboarding.
Build team culture through organizing all-hands meetings, retreats, and social events.
Facilitate the automation of work, making it feel exciting rather than threatening.
Resolve conflicts skillfully.
Design and implement internal policies, including salary, benefits, and performance reviews.
Ensure compliance with employment law across all jurisdictions, working with HR contractors as needed.
Act as the primary point of contact for legal questions, including employment law, IP, and nonprofit compliance.
Manage devices, procure software, and own the organizational tech stack.
Manage the physical office space to create a positive work environment.