Business Operations Associate
Job Location:
Berkeley, CA - USA
Yearly Salary:
Posted:
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
About
Since our founding in July 2022 weve grown quickly to 40 staff producing 30 influential academic papers and established the leading AI Safety events for research and international cooperation. Our work is recognized globally with publications at premier venues and features in the Financial Times Nature News Forbes and MIT Technology Review.
We drive practical change through red-teaming with frontier model developers and government institutions. Most recently we discovered major issues with Anthropics latest model the same day it was released and worked with OpenAI to safeguard their latest model. Additionally we help steer and grow the AI safety field through developing research roadmaps with renowned researchers such as Yoshua Bengio. We also operate an AI safety-focused co-working space in Berkeley housing 40 members as well as support the community through targeted grants to technical researchers.
The Role
We are hiring a Business Operations Associate to support our Business Operations Manager and work closely with our COO and leaders across the organization. This is a hands-on generalist role with a broad remit: you will own the compliance tracker provide finance and accounting support assist with HR operations assist with travel and events support help with IT coordination and take on special projects as they arise.
You will report to our Business Operations Manager and collaborate closely with our COO. No two weeks will look the same and that is by design.
Why This Role / Why Now
is scaling fast. We are 45 people today and expect to grow to 75 by the end of the year. Our operations team is growing alongside the organization and the scope of what we need to run well is expanding: finance and accounting HR and compliance IT and a steady stream of special projects that do not fit neatly anywhere else.
This role owns the recurring work that keeps moving. Partnering with our Business Operations Manager youll be the dependable center of our operations making sure nothing slips and who teams trust to just handle it. Youll own work thats varied hands-on and close to every part of the organization. If you do excellent work and the fit is strong there is real room to grow with us. The operations function is being built not maintained and this is an opportunity to be part of that.
If you are sharp low-ego and energized by getting things done across a wide range of operational domains we would love to hear from you.
Key Responsibilities
Operations delivery: Own operational tickets triaging incoming requests and providing first-responder support across the team. Maintain policies drive continuous improvement and clear any roadblocks that might slow us down.
Finance & compliance: Own and maintain compliance calendar tracking federal state and local filing deadlines and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Support the systematization and automation of compliance obligations across the organization and support financial operations as needed.
IT coordination: Provide initial IT support and coordinate with vendors to keep the teams tools and systems running. Coordinate equipment provisioning and sourcing.
HR operations: Support onboarding and offboarding processes HR compliance employment policies and the maintenance of the company handbook.
Coworking space operations: Support operations of including event logistics.
Special projects: Take on ad hoc operations projects as they arise ranging from vendor coordination goal tracking internal policies and process improvement.
Must-Have Qualifications
Evidence of real results in past roles things you have delivered or problems you have solved while juggling several responsibilities at once. Experience/seniority matters less than what you have done.
Comfort working across multiple operational domains simultaneously: finance HR compliance IT and projects. You do not need to be an expert but youll be required to learn quickly.
Strong written and verbal communication. You can write a clear email summarize a situation accurately and ask good questions.
Reliable with details especially on compliance and finance tasks where a missed deadline or a wrong number is a real issue. You flag issues proactively.
Demonstrated service mindset. You get energy from helping others succeed no job is too big or too small.
Nice-to-Have Qualifications
Experience in fast-paced highly ambiguous environments. Youve worked in startups nimble nonprofits or high-growth teams before and can adapt to change quickly.
Demonstrated experience as a high-agency problem-solver. Youve identified a need or a better way to do something and brought the solution to life.
Experience contributing to an impact-driven organization or passionate about AI safety.
Experience with tools like Coda Notion Asana CRMs or similar operational software.
Fluency with AI tools and workflows while applying your own judgment on when to use and when not to use.
Prior experience in operations.
Logistics
Structure: We are open to full-time employment with a 501(c)(3) research non-profit.
Location: Berkeley CA (onsite/hybrid).
Hours: Full-time (40 hours/week).
Compensation: $80000-$110000/year depending on experience. We will also pay for work-related travel and equipment expenses and offer catered lunch and dinner at our office in Berkeley.
Reporting: Reports to the Business Operations Manager
Hiring process: A test task phone screen interview with hiring manager and in-depth interviews with the team followed by reference checks.
We recognize that no single candidate may embody all of the qualities above. If you believe you have the drive and the foundational skills to succeed in this position even if your background looks a little different please apply. We value potential and adaptability above a rigid checklist.
If you have any questions about the role please do get in touch at If you dont have questions the best way to ensure a thorough review of your skills and qualifications is to apply directly through the application form. Please dont email us to share your resume (it wont have any impact on our decision). Thank you!
Required Experience:
IC
