AI Safety Replication Lead — Second Look

University of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 72,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Chicago's Existential Risk Laboratory (XLab) invites applications for the Second Look Program Lead, co-leading a 2026 pilot to replicate influential AI safety papers and shape the program's research agenda.

You will mentor fellows, oversee replications, ensure publication quality, represent the program externally, and help secure funding for a potential permanent team after the pilot.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in a related field (CS/ML/stats)
• 2–5 years of related work experience in AI safety or research
• Experience publishing technical work or reports
• Strong programming and ML tooling skills

Responsibilities

• Co-leads the replication selection process for high-priority papers
• Co-leads Summer 2026 Fellowship cohort, including supervision and quality review
• Owns a subset of replications with design and write-up responsibility
• Sets and enforces publication standards for outputs and communications
• Represents the program at conferences and in external forums
• Lead fundraising and sustainability planning for after the pilot
• Coordinate with Operations Manager and XLab admin team

Skills

Python

PyTorch

Git & GitHub

Research mentoring

Scientific writing

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS / ML / Statistics

Tools

Git

GitHub

ML tooling

Experimentation platforms

Job description

The University of Chicago's Existential Risk Laboratory (XLab) invites applications for the Second Look Program Lead, co-leading a 2026 pilot to replicate influential AI safety papers and shape the program's research agenda.

You will mentor fellows, oversee replications, ensure publication quality, represent the program externally, and help secure funding for a potential permanent team after the pilot.