Senior Research Manager

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

About The Organization

MATS Research aims to find and train talented individuals for what we see as the world's most urgent and talent-constrained problem: reducing risks from advanced artificial intelligence. Our mission is to maximize the impact and development of emerging researchers through mentorship, guidance, and resources. We believe that ambitious researchers from a variety of backgrounds have the potential to contribute to the fields of AI alignment, control, security, and governance research. Through our research fellowship, we aim to provide the mentorship, financial support, and community necessary to aid this transition. Please see our website for more details.

We are generally looking for candidates who:

• Are excited to work in a fast-paced environment and are comfortable switching responsibilities and projects as the needs of MATS change;
• Are self-motivated and can take on new responsibilities within MATS over time.

About the role

The MATS Research Management team supports the development of AI safety researchers through personalized support, strategic, structured guidance, and iterative feedback. Research Managers play a pivotal role in accelerating scholar growth, facilitating high-quality research, and guiding participants toward impactful AI safety careers.

Senior Research Managers multiply that impact even further: as they transition from direct research management with scholars and mentors to leading teams, they initially manage 3-4 Research Managers, helping the program scale while furthering research quality.

As a Senior Research Manager, you will lead a sub-team of Research Managers, ensuring that scholars and mentors achieve program milestones while scaling RM capacity. The exact balance of the role (including team size and whether you'll have direct scholar responsibilities) will be tailored based on organizational priorities and your experience.

This structure enables each Research Management sub-team to support roughly 20-64 scholars depending on mentor and scholar needs. The role offers a unique opportunity to shape the next generation of AI safety researchers while developing advanced leadership capabilities in a high-impact field.

Who We're Looking For

We welcome applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds, and strongly encourage you to apply if you fit into at least one of these profiles:

• Experienced team managers, especially those with technical or governance backgrounds
• Experienced professionals in the fields of technical research, governance research, and/or research management
• Engineering product/project managers from tech-focused organizations or a STEM industry

If you do not fit into one of these profiles but think you could be a good fit, we are still excited for you to apply!

Job responsibilities

• Manage, guide, and develop Research Managers
• Hold weekly 1-1s with allocated Research Managers to track scholar progress, provide actionable feedback and/or guidance to research managers, and drive their professional growth
• Contribute to the development of Research Management processes and research excellence; work with the team to pilot and document new processes and resources that can later be rolled out program-wide
• Own sub-team metrics (scholar feedback, milestone completion, mentor feedback) and present findings in cohort retrospective
• Ensure scholars managed by your sub-team complete essential milestones, meet mentor goals, and are connected to appropriate resources

• Sync weekly with the Research Director and/or London Director to keep overall research-support strategy coherent, request resources, and surface scholars and projects at risk
• Support team hiring and performance management processes
  • Flag researcher conflicts and/or community-health concerns promptly to the Community Lead
• Direct Research Management

• Partner with mentors to clarify research goals and help accelerate their mentorship process
• Research manage scholars: conduct regular 1-1 coaching, troubleshoot blockers, and uphold high standards on research outputs
• Strategic Development

• Spearhead internal projects - past projects have included the development of new scholar milestones and piloting new support initiatives
• Build, improve, and maintain the systems and infrastructure that MATS requires to run efficiently
• Provide input into strategy discussions

Essential Qualifications and Skills

• 3+ years of management experience
• 2+ years of professional experience within a technical industry
• Proven ability to give structured feedback, manage up/down, and resolve interpersonal friction professionally
• Working knowledge of and enthusiasm about AI-safety sub-fields
• Excitement about improving research processes and furthering the discipline of research management
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong listening skills and empathy
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving abilities
• Ability to explain complex concepts clearly and concisely
• Proactive and self-driven work ethic
• Capacity to elicit and solve blockers in an efficient and rapid manner
• Proactively enjoy working with others, stakeholder management
• Strong alignment with our mission, and familiarity with the basic ideas behind AGI safety and catastrophic AI risk

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

We expect especially strong applicants to have deep experience in at least one of the following areas:

• Demonstrated excellence in managing teams of people and/or multi-stakeholder projects
• Deep familiarity with some subset of AI safety concepts and research
• Experience in ML engineering, software engineering, or related technical fields
• Experience in technical AI safety research, AI policy, security, or governance
• Background in coaching or professional development

What We Offer

• Opportunity to help accelerate and launch the careers of highly talented early-career AI Safety researchers
• Opportunity to accelerate a large portfolio of impactful research projects: many of our projects have received oral and spotlight recognition at major academic conferences
• Chance to work with and learn from top researchers in the field
• Professional development and skill enhancement opportunities, e.g. deep-dives into bleeding-edge AI tools for research acceleration
• Collaborative and intellectually stimulating work environment
• Access to our office spaces in Berkeley, London, and other partnered office spaces
• Private medical insurance, including dental and vision
• Meals provided Monday-Friday

Visa sponsorship may be possible but is not guaranteed; we encourage all interested candidates to apply!

Compensation

Compensation will be $160,000-$200,000 annually for Berkeley roles and £105,000-£130,000 for London roles, depending on experience.

Working hours and location

40 hours per week. Successful candidates can expect to spend most of their time working in-person from our main offices. Senior Research Managers will be based either in person at our office in Berkeley, California, or in person at our office in Old Street, London. We are open to hybrid working arrangements for exceptional candidates.

How to apply

Please fill out the form here. In your application, please indicate your preference regarding being based in Berkeley or in London. If you use an LLM chatbot or other AI tools in this application, please follow these norms. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with priority given to candidates that apply by October 17th. The anticipated start date for this role is December 1st.

MATS is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment at the forefront of our field. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences.

Join us in shaping the future of AI safety and security research!