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About the Role

AI capabilities in the life sciences are advancing rapidly, with foundation models designing proteins and interpreting genomic sequences. These tools offer scientific progress but also potential for misuse. The AI Security Institute's Chem-Bio team evaluates frontier and narrow AI models in chemistry and biology to inform the UK government and partners on risks and capabilities. This role is critical for enabling the team to accelerate research, deliver complex programs, and deepen engagement with AI labs and security services. You will work with researchers to structure ambiguous questions into tractable programs, ensure research aligns with empirical claims for policy, and recommend technical work, acting as a research-programme architect.

Responsibilities

Work directly with researchers to scope projects, refine questions, define milestones and success criteria, and sequence technical dependencies, resources, and time across workstreams.
Bring a continuous improvement mindset to the team’s existing lightweight research management structures, creating visibility and grip without overhead.
Surface technical blockers before they become crises, intervene directly to resolve them, and escalate appropriately to ensure researchers focus on research.
Manage the technical interface with government partners (Dstl, UKHSA, MOD) for research-related engagement, including data-sharing, joint technical work, and scoping classified compute access.
Maintain the operational rhythm for a small, high-performing research team to move at frontier speed inside government.
Ensure the team has necessary resources and that nothing falls through the cracks.

Requirements

Track record as a technical programme manager working directly with researchers or engineers.
Managed complex technical programmes, ideally at an AI lab, biotech startup, in defence/intelligence R&D, or a similarly high-ambiguity research environment.
Ability to scope and structure novel research work where the answer is not known in advance.
Earned the trust of technical teams by deeply understanding their work to provide critical challenge beyond process.
Fluent enough in frontier AI to operate in constant conversation with researchers about work, strategy, and research taste.
Understand what is hard, speculative, blocked, and what 'good' looks like for a given experiment or evaluation.
High agency and ownership, taking responsibility for outcomes and proactively resolving issues.
Credibility with technical teams, influencing through competence and service, respecting expertise and constraints.
Strong prioritization under pressure, identifying critical tasks and focusing team energy while managing longer-horizon work.
Judgment to recognize work that is not landing and confidence to escalate or recommend stopping it.
Discretion and judgment in a sensitive domain, understanding dual-use sensitivity of AI and biology.
Comfortable working within classified constraints and making sound trade-offs between openness, security, and pace.
Experience in biosecurity, life sciences, public health, or adjacent domains where similar dual-use judgment is required.
Prior experience at a frontier AI lab.
Existing SC or DV clearance.
Experience working in or with Dstl, MOD, DHSC, UKHSA or equivalent national security/adjacent bodies in other settings.
Hands-on comfort with modern productivity tools (coding agents, Linear) and willingness to use AI tools as part of daily work.
Successfully complete UK Government SC clearance (prior clearance not required, sponsorship provided).
Normally resident in the UK for the past 5 years for SC clearance eligibility.
May be required to undergo Developed Vetting (DV), typically requiring around 10 years of UK residency.
Obtain and maintain the required security clearance(s).
Undergo a criminal record check and get baseline personnel security standard (BPSS) clearance.
Eligibility for counter-terrorist check (CTC) clearance (strong preference).

Skills

Frontier AI fluency
Prioritization
Discretion and judgment
Modern productivity tools (coding agents, Linear)
AI tools usage

Location

Heart of the UK government
Modern central London office
Birmingham
Cardiff
Darlington
Edinburgh
Salford
Bristol
Occasional remote work abroad

Work Type

Full-time
Hybrid working
Flexibility for occasional remote work abroad

Experience Level

Track record as a technical programme manager
Managed complex technical programmes
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7

Salary/Compensations

£65,000 and £145,000 (base salary plus a technical allowance)
Level 3: £65,000–£75,000 (Base £39,850 + Technical Allowance £25,150–£35,150)
Level 4: £85,000–£95,000 (Base £47,355 + Technical Allowance £37,645–£47,645)
Level 5: £105,000–£115,000 (Base £61,620 + Technical Allowance £43,380–£53,380)
Level 6: £125,000–£135,000 (Base £74,605 + Technical Allowance £50,395–£60,395)
Level 7: £145,000 (Base £74,605 + Technical Allowance £70,395)
Additional 28.97% employer pension contribution on the base salary

Benefits

Impact not achievable elsewhere
Talented, mission-driven, and supportive colleagues
Direct influence on global frontier AI governance and deployment
Work with the Prime Minister’s AI Advisor and leading AI companies
Opportunity to shape the first and best-resourced public-interest research team focused on AI security
Pre-release access to multiple frontier models and ample compute
Extensive operational support to focus on research and ship quickly
Work with experts across national security, policy, AI research, and adjacent sciences
Ownership of important problems early for talented and driven individuals
5 days off and annual stipends for learning and development
Funding for conferences and external collaborations
Freedom to pursue research bets without product pressure
Opportunities to publish and collaborate externally
Modern central London office (cafes, food court, gym)
Option to work in similar government offices in Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, Salford or Bristol
Hybrid working
Flexibility for occasional remote work abroad
Stipends for work-from-home equipment
At least 25 days’ annual leave
8 public holidays
Extra team-wide breaks
3 days off for volunteering
Generous paid parental leave (36 weeks of UK statutory leave shared between parents + 3 extra paid weeks + option for additional unpaid time)
28.97% employer pension contribution on base salary
Discounts and benefits for cycling to work, donations, and retail/gyms

About the Company

The AI Security Institute is the world's largest and best-funded team dedicated to understanding advanced AI risks and translating that knowledge into action.
Located in the heart of the UK government with direct lines to No. 10 (the Prime Minister's office).
Works with frontier developers and governments globally.
Governments are critical for advanced AI going well, and UK AISI is uniquely positioned to mobilise them.
Utilizes resources, unique agility, and international influence to shape both AI development and government action.

Equal Opportunity

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities.
Runs a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants at risk of redundancy who meet minimum requirements for advertised vacancies.
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain, and invest in talent wherever it is found.
Monitors statistics on Diversity and Inclusion as part of the application process.