Director of Programs

$130,000 – $240,000 (depending on experience and location; additional flexibility for exceptional candidates)
Full-time
Washington, DC / Cambridge, UK / Remote
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About LawAI

The Institute for Law & AI (LawAI) is an independent think tank that researches and advises on the legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence. We believe that sound legal analysis will promote security, welfare, and the rule of law. We conduct research at the intersection of artificial intelligence, law, and policy and advise governments, research organizations, and private actors. You can learn more about LawAI here, alongside our recent publications and an overview of our workstreams and research directions.

About the role

LawAI is looking for a motivated and entrepreneurial leader to join and support us with the development, implementation, and scaling of legal field-building programs in the US and the EU. LawAI runs several programs with the aim of identifying, attracting, training, and placing talented law students, legal scholars, and lawyers to impactful opportunities in AI, law, and policy. Our current programs include our flagship 3-month summer and winter research fellowships, 3-day law-and-policy workshops and a year-long Research Scholar Program, as well as a new senior visiting researcher fellowship. You would have the dedicated support of operations managers who specialize in event management, research managers who support our seasonal research fellows, and a recruiter to support the acquisition of talent for our programs. 

The exact scope of responsibilities will depend on the qualifications and interests of the candidate. That said, we expect most versions of this role would involve some subset of the following responsibilities:

  • Planning program content. You will help plan the structure and content of different programs, with the input of our research teams.
  • Managing partnerships. You will work with a variety of stakeholders—including candidates, program participants, prospective speakers, contractors, and service providers—to ensure that everyone’s needs are being met and the aims of the programs are being fulfilled.
  • Supporting participants and alumni of our programs. You will strengthen existing relationships and explore new partnerships to enable alumni of our programs to take on high-impact positions in the field of AI, law, and policy, providing post-program support and building out a robust talent pipeline for people after their time with us ends. 
  • Recruiting and selecting candidates. Together with our recruitment team, you will ensure a seamless recruitment pipeline to ensure that we are reaching and selecting the most talented law students and legal professionals. This includes overseeing the preparation of hiring materials and setting up processes to support research and programs staff that evaluate applicant materials and conduct interviews. You will plan and implement evaluations of recruiting and selection processes to determine, identify, and address areas for improvement.
  • Producing events. You will oversee a team of operations managers who handle the logistics of running in-person and online events associated with our programs. You will coordinate team efforts to research and book venues, plan event schedules, coordinate with participants and speakers, and handle day-of logistics.
  • Conducting impact analyses. You will evaluate the effectiveness of programs by planning and carrying out impact analyses, including identifying key metrics and collecting and analyzing data.
  • Developing resources. You will develop resources to support our program participants in developing their knowledge, skill, networks, and access to opportunities within AI, law, and policy.

About you

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

  • Thrive when you can take “radical ownership” of a project. You can keep several balls up in the air and maintain a structured overview of various ongoing programs and priorities. You leverage the skills of the team members you work with and amplify their efforts. 
  • Enjoy planning projects and executing them from start to finish. You have good project management skills and are able to prioritize and complete tasks reliably and on time. You have excellent follow-through and accountability.
  • Are passionate about our mission and motivated to ensure that advances in artificial intelligence are beneficial and safe for the public.
  • Have good strategic awareness of talent needs in AI, law, and policy. You are excited to engage with the field and key stakeholders to determine what programs would move the field forward.
  • Have strong social skills and are attentive to group dynamics and individual needs. You enjoy bringing people together and creating a collaborative and productive environment. You have high emotional intelligence and attentiveness to others’ needs. You can be friendly and professional when interacting with diverse groups of people, such as students and community members from different countries and cultures. Ideally, you feel comfortable in a wide range of social situations.
  • Have strong communication skills. You can distill the key ideas from long and complex discussions and communicate them to stakeholders in a professional and friendly way. You can write functionally and stylistically and adapt your communication style depending on the audience.
  • Have a solid track record of program or event design and production, ideally in AI, law, and policy or related fields.
  • Work in a responsive and agile way. You stay calm when conditions change and are able to improvise and pivot quickly. In the time leading up to and during an event or program, you are able to handle any issues that arise and work in sprints if needed.
  • Can travel 2-3 times a year for team retreats and conferences, typically in the United States or Europe.

All of the above said, there’s no such thing as a perfect candidate; we don’t expect a successful hire to excel in all of the dimensions here. If you are on the fence about applying because you are unsure whether you are qualified, we strongly encourage you to apply. 

Other details

Compensation 

The salary range for this role is $130,000 – $240,000, depending on experience and location. For exceptional candidates whose experience exceeds our expectations in terms of relevance and seniority, we may consider higher compensation.

Start date

We’re ideally looking for someone able to start as soon as possible, but we’re open to waiting for longer if the ideal candidate isn’t available immediately.

Time zones and location 

This is a full-time, permanent position that requires significant overlap with the working hours of the rest of our team, most of whom are based in the US, the UK and Western/Central Europe. We encourage in-person work from our office in Cambridge, UK, or from Washington, DC but we have staff working from many different countries and support flexibility where needed.

Visas: We may be able to support visa applications in some instances for this role, though individual eligibility is not within our control.

Benefits

Our benefits include:

  • Flexible working hours (with some overlap with US/UK/Europe time zones) with in-person work encouraged from our office in Cambridge, UK, or from Washington, DC.
  • 5 weeks of PTO recommended per year, plus public holidays
  • 12 weeks of paid parental leave that can be taken prior to birth or adoption and during the first year, with the option to take additional unpaid leave
  • Employer pension or matching 401(k) contribution up to 4% of your salary
  • Health insurance for employees residing in countries without nationalized healthcare
  • An annual reimbursement fund of $5,000 for productivity and professional development 
  • An annual reimbursement fund of $5,000 for mental health support
  • An annual reimbursement fund of $2,500 for equipment and office supplies
  • A friendly, open work culture that encourages feedback and close collaboration and a team that appreciates the contributions of all team members

Diversity

We aim to employ people with many different experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who share our mission. We are committed to creating an environment where all employees have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their race, religion, disability, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation.

Requests for accommodation

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability or incompatible assistive technology, please contact hiring@law-ai.org to request reasonable accommodations.

application process

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. Fill out the application form by April 24, 2026
  2. Initial screening call
  3. Invitation to take a work test (~2hrs) designed to simulate the work you would do if hired and/or evaluate certain skills important for success in the role
  4. Remote interviews & optional reference checks
  5. A paid work trial of one or more days (remote or in-person) to allow you and us to see what it would be like if you worked at LawAI. (We recognize people’s scheduling constraints and will work with candidates to find an option that works for them.).
  6. Employment offer

We believe it’s worthwhile to invest significant time in hiring in order to build the strongest possible team. We realize our hiring process is unusually demanding, and we offer monetary honorariums 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.


Referral program

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.

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