Research Program Associate, AI Safety

Cambridge Boston Alignment Initiative•Cambridge, MA

46d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Cambridge Boston Alignment Initiative (CBAI) is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to ensuring a safe and beneficial transition to advanced AI systems through research and education. CBAI produces original research and accelerates AI safety research via fellowship programs. Following a successful launch, CBAI is expanding its operations in 2026, hosting multiple fellowship cycles, doubling the fellowship cohort, and quadrupling the team. The Research Program Associate will work closely with Research Managers, mentors, and program leadership to design and improve the structures that support fellows in their research. This role focuses on program building, developing systems for mentor matching, research goal scoping and tracking, progress assessment, and unblocking fellows. The associate will shape the environment for fellow-mentor relationships without direct day-to-day management of fellows. The role is split between Program Design & Development (0.6 FTE) and Fellow & Mentor Experience (0.4 FTE).

Requirements

Understanding of good research support, having been close to serious intellectual or analytical work.
Systems thinking: ability to identify friction points and design simple, effective solutions.
Track record of building processes that are useful rather than burdensome.
Excellent communication skills: clear writing, concise explanations, and constructive feedback.
Proactive problem-solving and direct communication when necessary.
Organization and conscientiousness: ability to keep complex projects on track, follow through reliably, and maintain clear documentation.
Receptiveness to feedback and ability to improve approach based on learning.
Interpersonal excellence: strong collaboration and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to work across Research Managers, mentors, fellows, and leadership without creating friction.
Pride in helping others do their best work.
Mission-motivated with strong alignment to CBAI's mission and familiarity with AGI safety and catastrophic AI risks.
Passion for contributing meaningfully to reducing AI catastrophic risks.
Curiosity and adaptability: genuine interest in AI safety research.
Active seeking of tools and approaches to improve fellowship effectiveness.
Staying current on developments relevant to the program.
Meaningful experience designing or improving programs, initiatives, or organizational systems.
U.S. work authorization required (OPT accepted).

Nice To Haves

Previous involvement in AI safety, field-building, or research acceleration programs.
Experience in research program coordination or academic administration.
Familiarity with how research fellowships or grant programs operate.
Experience in research-adjacent environments (labs, think tanks, or similar).

Responsibilities

Design and iterate on systems, including the fellow selection process and program deliverables.
Identify high-potential outreach channels and methods and manage outreach campaigns for future iterations.
Develop structured program evaluation frameworks to assess fellow progress and program effectiveness.
Identify and implement structural improvements between fellowship cycles based on feedback.
Support the design and execution of fellowship events, such as speaker series and poster days.
Design and manage the mentor onboarding experience, ensuring clear expectations and resources for mentors.
Develop feedback mechanisms to surface issues early and create strong communication loops between fellows, mentors, and program leadership.
Support research managers in navigating complex fellow or mentor situations requiring program-level input.
Design supplementary programming to enhance the fellowship's intellectual environment (e.g., reading groups, lightning talks, workshop sessions).