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Principles of Intelligence (PrincInt) is hiring a small cohort of researchers to conduct sensemaking and horizon scanning on interdisciplinary approaches to scalable alignment and related areas during the pilot phase of four (4) new Coordinated Research Programs (CRPs). Over a paid ~four (4)-month engagement, you will build a deep and complete understanding of the bets the field is making in one of our new research areas, lay out a roadmap for how the technical work should be done, and find the expertise communities outside AI safety that should be working on it.
If successful in this role, you may be offered an extension and promotion to Technical Director of the Coordinated Research Program you helped scope. As Technical Director, you would lead your own research team and research agenda within PrincInt and steward research groups incubated through the program.
Location: Remote, with no location requirement.
Travel: You’ll be expected to attend at least one convening or horizon-scanning event in person during the engagement. Travel and accommodation are covered.
Type: ~Four (4)-month engagement. Contractor. Full-time preferred; part-time considered for strong candidates with existing academic or research work.
Start date: Negotiable, with a strong preference for starting as soon as possible. For a sense of timing, an engagement that begins in mid to late November 2026 would run until around mid to late March 2027.
Compensation: $25,000–$38,000 for ~four (4) months, depending on seniority and cost of living in your location, plus travel costs. Exceptional candidates may earn more.
Extension and promotion: The contract may be extended depending on fit for both sides, with potential promotion to Technical Director of the Coordinated Research Program you helped scope. Technical Director salaries sit above the rate for this engagement.
Reporting line/collaborators: Reports to the Executive Director, Research, Lucas Teixeira. You’ll work alongside Lauren Greenspan (Technical Director), Cecilia Wood (Technical Director, Mechanism Design), and Daniel Herrmann (Horizon Scanner, Philosophy).
Application deadline: Please submit application by 5 November 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Earlier applications have an advantage.
Referrals: We’re happy to receive referrals.
Principles of Intelligence (PrincInt) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization that aims to grow the AI safety field by fostering interdisciplinary engagement with the natural and social sciences. We support foundational scientific contributions that aid the development of safe and globally beneficial AI systems. Through our research programs, residencies and field-building efforts, we bring together expertise from different disciplines to advance understanding of intelligent behavior and strengthen the scientific foundations required to create aligned AI systems. We began in 2021 as PIBBSS, and took the name Principles of Intelligence as the work expanded beyond the fellowship into coordinated research programs, an internal research division, the incubation of new research organizations, and fiscal sponsorship for independent labs and researchers.
We develop and support coordinated research programs (CRPs) which are built around the principle of use-inspired basic research: fundamental scientific exploration in service of creating AI safety-relevant public goods (e.g., high-assurance interpretability tools, robust alignment targets). This work aligns with our PIBBSS fellowship and expands on past field-building efforts, which focused on supporting individuals rather than groups.
Developing a CRP runs through three phases:
A cohort of Horizon Scanners begins scoping the program, defining what success would look like and identifying relevant expertise communities, before reaching out through discipline-specific conferences, workshops, and one-on-one conversations with potential collaborators. Seed funding, in turn, supports an initial internal research team that gives the program a base of expertise. By the end of this stage, we aim to show external collaborators that the program is credible and its problems tractable.