Own Kairos’s full operations stack as we scale from 7 to ~20 people and launch our incubator for new AI safety field-building projects.

Note: This role description is a first draft. Scope, salary, and responsibilities may evolve as our plans develop over the coming weeks, and we’ll keep you in the loop about any changes if you apply.

About Kairos

Kairos is a nonprofit accelerating talent into AI safety and policy. In just under two years, we’ve trained over 1000+ people through our flagship programs:

• SPAR: The largest AI safety research fellowship, with 400+ mentees per round mentored by researchers from Anthropic, Redwood Research, RAND, MIT, the UK AI Security Institute, and others.

• Generator Residency: In partnership with Constellation, a platform for generalist talent to pitch, build, and ship projects that build capacity and infrastructure across the AI safety ecosystem, with advisors from OpenAI, AI Futures Project, METR, and more.

• Global Challenges Project: A workshop series introducing promising students to careers in AI safety and biosecurity, run several times a year across Oxford, Boston, and Berkeley.

• Pathfinder Fellowship: Helping grow the global network of AI safety university groups from a few dozen to nearly 100, with $1.4M+ in funding to support their work.

We see ourselves as a portfolio of highly impactful projects in a fast-evolving field. By the end of 2027, we expect to double in size and launch several new initiatives addressing critical gaps in the ecosystem.

The Role

We’re looking for a Head of Operations to own all operations at Kairos: finance, compliance, HR, grant logistics, internal systems and policies, and more. You’ll be responsible for keeping us both compliant and fast-moving across the full spectrum of ops functions, and for providing experienced leadership as we grow and launch programs with new needs. You’d report to Agus Covarrubias (co-director of Kairos).

A major part of this role is running operations for Kairos Labs, the incubator we’ll be launching to support new field-building projects. You’ll help fiscally sponsored projects meet their ops needs and advise them as they build their own systems. Expect a dynamic role with varied responsibilities, a good fit for someone with wide-ranging experience who’s excited to be constantly in startup mode.

What You’ll Do

Own Kairos’s internal operations

• Finance and accounting. Manage our bookkeepers and accountants, lead our annual audit and 990 filing, own treasury, and build the budgeting and financial planning that lets us make money decisions deliberately as we scale.

• Compliance. Keep us on top of federal and state filings, charitable registrations, and nonprofit governance requirements.

• People operations. Own payroll, benefits, employer-of-record relationships, onboarding and offboarding, and HR policy across a globally distributed team.

• Systems and policies. Build internal infrastructure that stays lightweight as we grow, including dual controls, documentation, the employee handbook, and the workflows that keep us both safe and quick.

Run operations for Kairos Labs

• Support fiscally sponsored projects. Help new field-building projects meet their ops needs, from finance to hiring.

• Advise on setup and spinout. Guide founders through nonprofit formation and the path to operating independently.

• Handle the weird problems. Be the person who can untangle whatever unusual legal, financial, or operational situation comes up.

Oversee grantmaking and program ops

• Build grant infrastructure. Make grant processing fast, compliant, and pleasant for grantees across Pathfinder and future programs.

• Oversee our fiscal sponsorship of Pathfinder groups. Own spending controls, support, and compliance across our university groups.

• Manage and grow the ops team. Shape the ops function and the team behind it as both expand.

Who You Are

• Experienced, full-stack operator. You have around 7+ years across operations with real depth in the hard skills, especially finance and compliance. Nonprofit experience is a strong plus.

• Systems-builder with a UX mindset. You build efficient processes and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy. You’re good at turning sound judgment into infrastructure that scales beyond you.

• Highly organized. You keep careful track of to-dos and information. When you drop a ball, it’s on purpose.

• Comfortable in startup mode. You’re proactive and agentic about improvements, and you stay calm when days are unpredictable and the work is varied.

• Mission-aligned. You care about making advanced AI go well, and you’re comfortable operating in the AI safety ecosystem and its culture.

While not required, we especially value:

• Experience leading operations or finance at a nonprofit

• Experience setting up or advising on nonprofit incorporation and fiscal sponsorship

• Context on AI safety and the broader ecosystem

Why Work With Us

• You’ll be working toward reducing risks from advanced AI, potentially the most important challenge of our time. Your work keeps the whole organization compliant, solvent, and able to move fast.

• You’ll own a large and consequential surface area, with strong ownership over how Kairos operates and grows.

• You’ll have real strategic input, co-creating the ops function and Kairos Labs’ operational model with the co-directors.

• We’re building a world-class team, so you’ll be in good company. Work alongside people from METR, Coefficient Giving, Rethink Priorities, and CEA who share your commitment to impact.

• Collaborate regularly with leading AI safety researchers, policy professionals, funders, and organizers.

What We Offer

• Base salary: $170,000–$260,000, depending on experience and location, with potential for additional compensation for exceptional candidates

• Retirement: 10% 401(k) contribution or equivalent pension contribution or salary increase

• Location: Access to office space in San Francisco, Berkeley, London, or Boston; optional coworking elsewhere. If you work from an AI safety office in San Francisco, Berkeley, London, or Boston, we cover food, lunches, and office expenses.

• Benefits: Flexible working hours, highly competitive health insurance, dental and vision coverage, generous vacation policy, and professional development budget

• Team retreats: We host all-team retreats twice a year to connect in person, collaborate, and build team culture.

Logistics

• Start date: Ideally by August 2026

• Remote, with expected travel 3-6 times a year for conferences and events, predominantly in the US

• We’d also be happy for you to work out of any of the AI safety hubs in San Francisco, Berkeley, London, or Boston, though we have a light preference for people to work out of Berkeley.

• We prefer candidates who can attend meetings in the ET time zone (though our team currently spans GMT-8 to GMT+1).

• We may be able to provide visa sponsorship to the US, depending on the circumstances (especially, but not exclusively, O-1As).

Our Culture

We’re a small, high-trust team motivated by the urgent challenge of making advanced AI go well. We try hard to figure out where we’re wrong, which means we say uncomfortable things to each other and change our minds fairly often. We value collaborative truth-seeking, a scout mindset, agility, and an alliance mindset with the broader ecosystem.

We also believe meaningful work should be enjoyable. We support each other’s well-being, celebrate wins, and maintain a healthy sense of humor even when the work is hard.

Application Process

1. Application form (10–20 mins)

2. Screening call (15 mins)

3. Take-home assignment (1.5–3 hours, paid)

4. Interview (45 mins)

5. Reference checks

6. Work trial (3–4 days, paid)

7. Offer

If you’re excited about this role but unsure whether you meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway.

Questions? Reach out at careers@kairos-project.org.

Know someone who might be a good fit? If your referral gets hired and completes 6 months with us, we’ll pay you a $5,000 referral bonus. Learn more here.