Research Specialist or Assistant

Freelancingforgood; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

An impactful research organization seeks a Research Specialist to identify topics, select guests, and prepare for interviews. Candidates should have a background in AI or related fields, strong analytical skills, and a passion for meaningful impact. This full-time position allows for discussions in the evolving field of artificial intelligence. Salary ranges from £47,000 to £85,000 depending on experience.

Qualifications

• Ambitious about impact, excited to shape important conversations.
• Consume a lot of audio or video podcasts.
• Willing to take an experimental approach.

Responsibilities

• Specialise in identifying topics to cover and strategic guest selection.
• Research potential guests and prepare interview questions.
• Track developments in the AGI space for content planning.

Skills

Strong judgement about content

Clear communication

Analytical skills

Engagement with AI/AGI

Education

Background in AI safety, AI policy, computer science, philosophy

Job description

80,000 Hours are looking for a Research Specialist or Assistant.

Overview:

• Full-time position
• Location: London, UK or San Francisco Bay Area (open to remote work in some cases)
• Language: English
• Salary: £47,000 to £85,000 per year; depending on skills, fit, and experience
• Applications closing: 30th November

Job Description

The 80,000 Hours Podcast aims to help the world safely navigate the transition to a flourishing future with artificial general intelligence. We focus on influencing the decisions that matter most – helping people identify high‑lever‑age career moves and important actions they can take in their current positions.

Our episodes reach tens or hundreds of thousands of people, and we regularly hear from employees in government and at leading AI companies who find them useful. We’re also growing fast: in 2025, our listenership was around 60% higher than the same period last year. In order to further improve the usefulness and reach of our episodes, we need to increase the team’s capacity.

Responsibilities

In this role, you would specialise in identifying what topics to cover, who to talk to, and what questions to ask them.

Responsibilities for this role might include:

• Strategic guest selection and content planning: Tracking developments in the AGI space to identify what topics deserve coverage, determining which perspectives and expertise would be most valuable for our audience, and which guests we should ask to speak to those topics.
• Guest research and outreach: Researching potential guests’ work to identify what makes them valuable to interview, how their expertise fits into our content strategy, and how to best approach them so they want to come on the show.
• Interview preparation: Drafting potential questions, anticipating key considerations and cruxes, and helping hosts prepare for substantive conversations that surface the most important ideas.

Role Requirements

We’re hoping to make two hires, both of whom:

• Are ambitious about impact— you want your work to meaningfully shape important conversations, not just contribute at the margins. You’re excited to take on significant challenges.
• Have strong judgement about content— you understand what makes people click, watch, and share, particularly among professional and policy audiences.
• Are clear communicators— you can articulate complex ideas plainly and concisely, making information easy for others to understand and act on. You’re comfortable discussing uncertainties in decision-making and naturally anticipate questions others might have.
• Consume a lot of audio or video podcasts— or secondarily, Substacks, AI/effective altruism Twitter, or video clips.
• Actively engage with AI/AGI developments— you follow the field, take the implications seriously, and want to contribute to better outcomes.
• Are willing to take an experimental approach, changing plans in response to what seems to resonate with the target audience.

Specific role requirements

You might be suited to this role if you have:

• Background in AI safety, AI policy, computer science, philosophy, or related fields
• Strong analytical and research skills— you can quickly get up to speed on complex topics and identify key considerations
• Intellectual curiosity— you enjoy diving into technical details while keeping sight of the big picture
• Clear written communication— you can synthesise research and communicate findings concisely
• Good judgement— you can assess the credibility of sources and the strength of different arguments

How to apply?

To apply for this role, please fill in the application form.