Senior Biology Specialist

TaskUs

10d•$100,000 - $160,000•Remote

About The Position

TaskUs partners with frontier technology and AI research companies to support safety and human-in-the-loop operations. This Senior Biology Specialist joins a specialized life-sciences pod supporting an AI research and safety company whose safeguards aim to prevent AI systems from lowering technical barriers to biological weapons and catastrophic biological risks. Because legitimate scientific research can share terminology with biological threat mechanisms, flagged biological cases are reviewed by experts. The specialist evaluates complex, high-consequence escalations, distinguishes legitimate scientific work from actionable risk, mentors Junior Specialists, and produces high-fidelity labels used to validate and train automated safety classifiers. The role is remote in the United States, with Texas residency preferred, and involves daily review of sensitive material, including flagged prompts, synthetic biology protocols, dangerous pathogen handling instructions, and toxic agent formulation data. Selected candidates may undergo client-directed insider-threat screening, background checks, and academic credential verification.

Requirements

Master’s or Ph.D. in Microbiology, Virology, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Synthetic Biology, Biosecurity, or a directly related discipline.
At least 5 years of professional experience in biodefense, biosecurity policy, biosafety oversight (IBC/BSO), public health threat surveillance, or BSL-3 laboratory operations.
Deep technical familiarity with high-consequence human, animal, and plant pathogens, toxin production pathways, and Federal Select Agent Program guidelines.
Ability to distinguish benign educational or defensive life-science questions from illicit protocol formulation, including when user input is partial or fragmented.
Experience peer-reviewing scientific analysis, maintaining consistent operational labeling, and mentoring junior colleagues.
Strong technical writing skills and ability to summarize complex microbiological mechanisms in concise, actionable risk memos.
Based in the United States with unrestricted work authorization.

Nice To Haves

Texas residency.
Prior work with the DoD/DTRA, HHS/ASPR/BARDA, CDC, state public health labs, or national biodefense laboratories.
Experience with DNA synthesis screening protocols, gene editing compliance, or biosecurity red-teaming.
Working knowledge of AI safety, prompt evaluation, or computational biology tools.
Active or recent U.S. Government Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

Review and adjudicate complex, high-severity cases escalated from automated detection queues and Junior Specialists, including cases involving select-agent sourcing, pathogen modification, production protocols, and biological formulation or delivery.
Distinguish legitimate academic, medical, or diagnostic research from actionable, weaponized biological pathways using advanced scientific reasoning.
Perform quality assurance on Junior Specialists’ casework, provide technical feedback, and help lead regular calibration sessions.
Evaluate customer appeals, document evidence-backed rationales for enforcement actions, and recommend policy determinations.
Create precise, defensible case annotations for gold-standard benchmark datasets used to assess and fine-tune automated safety filters.
Prepare clear technical risk assessments for the Principal Biology Specialist and client safety leads, and promptly escalate novel threat patterns or ambiguous cases.