(Senior) Research Fellow

You might be a good fit for this role if you:

• Prioritize research questions relevant to ensuring that advances in artificial intelligence are beneficial and safe for the public. You believe that the potentially transformative impacts of AI merit rigorous, thoughtful research. You are motivated to work on projects that could have real implications for promoting security, welfare, and the rule of law for all people.
• Gravitate toward work that is action-relevant and has a practical bent. You prioritize questions that can meaningfully improve our understanding of the tools, limitations, and tradeoffs of governing advanced AI. Even when your goal is purely to describe the world as it is, you do so with an eye toward concretely progressing the state of knowledge rather than answering interesting but inconsequential questions. You frequently ask, “But who actually cares about this answer?” and “What information would they need to make a better-informed decision?” You want to help researchers, policymakers, and other key decision-makers have more accurate views of the world and the choices available to them.
• Care about seeking truth. You want to accurately evaluate the evidence (even when it is inconvenient). You want to convey your level of (un)certainty in your conclusions and reason transparently so that people can identify flaws or shortcomings in your analysis. You make recommendations when you believe they are well-supported and hold back when they aren’t. You see research as an iterative process whereby critique and discussion are essential to achieving a better result. 
• Have a legal background. You might have worked at a law firm, in academia, in government, or in an organization that tries to inform governments, such as a think tank. We expect that the most promising candidates typically have a JD, another graduate degree in a relevant field of expertise, or equivalent qualifications from other jurisdictions.
• Have a demonstrated ability to produce excellent work. You have a strong track record of academic publications, policy reports, or other research outputs. Or you may have achieved impressive results in other ways.
• Are familiar with legal and policy questions relevant to AI. While the field is nascent, our dream candidate would have professional experience working on AI issues specifically.
• Are self-directed and proactive.
• Work well in teams. You collaborate well on longer projects as well as time-sensitive requests, and you are motivated to help others succeed. You both give and are receptive to constructive feedback.
• Have excellent written communication skills. You can articulate your views clearly and with strong reasoning transparency. You are able to convey complex legal concepts in an accessible and nuanced way.
• Have excellent analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Can travel 2-3 times a year for team retreats and conferences.

This role might also benefit from you having some of the following qualifications, although you could still be a highly competitive candidate even if you don’t have any of them:

• Ability to evaluate and prioritize projects based on their expected impact.
• Experience with legislative drafting or policy analysis. You may have been a legislative staffer, assisting with the formulation of federal policy and legislative strategy.
• Experience with policymaking and lobbying.
• Empirical skills that can help you evaluate the quality of evidence relied upon in your research.
• Subject-matter expertise. You might have a technical background, such as a degree in computer science, or expert knowledge of a particularly valuable area of the law, like administrative law.

While these attributes are each important, there’s no such thing as a perfect candidate; we don’t expect a successful hire to excel in all dimensions. If you are on the fence about applying because you are unsure whether you are qualified, we strongly encourage you to apply.

If you think you might be a good fit for the role but are unsure whether you should apply, we strongly encourage you to do so. The hiring process looks like this:

1. Application form: Submit your application form by January 30, 2026. We will not be able to assess late applications.
2. Screening interview: A brief 15-minute conversation to help us understand your perspective on AI development and its implications for society, law, and policy.
3. Work test: An invitation to complete a short work test (~2 hours) designed to simulate the type of work you would do in this role and assess skills that are important for success.
4. Research interview: A conversation with a member of our research staff to discuss your research interests, goals, and overall fit for the role.
5. Work trial: A paid work trial of one or more days (remote or in-person) to give both you and us a sense of what it would be like to work together. We recognize scheduling constraints and will work with candidates to find a suitable arrangement.
6. Employment offer.

We believe it’s worthwhile to invest significant time in hiring in order to build the strongest possible team. We recognize that our hiring process is unusually demanding, and we offer monetary honoraria for completing our work trial, partly to ensure financial constraints do not keep candidates from applying, and partly to demonstrate that we respect and appreciate the time that applicants put into the assessment process.

This position is eligible for LawAI’s referral program. The referral program offers $5,000 to eligible individuals who refer a candidate who is ultimately hired for one of our open positions. Full terms can be found here.