Military Operations & IHL Expert

Zekai; United States; Remote; USD 92,000 - 221,000; Full time

Job summary

Zekai is seeking a Military Operations & IHL Expert for a 100% remote contractor role. You'll apply your domain knowledge in warfighting, international law, and defense policy to shape AI training data and evaluation frameworks.

Preferred candidates have 5+ years in military/defense analysis or IHL, with advanced degrees, strong writing and communication, and readiness to work with interdisciplinary teams.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant military, defense analysis, or IHL experience.
• Advanced degree (e.g., MA, LLM, PhD) or equivalent operational experience.
• High credibility and established track record in warfighting, operational planning, targeting law, or humanitarian law application.
• Expertise in interpreting and applying conflict ethics, IHL, and defense policy frameworks in real-world scenarios.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey technical and ethical concepts clearly and concisely.

Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive taxonomies for military-use and defense operations within diverse conflict contexts.
• Create dual-use triage frameworks that help distinguish between military and civilian applications of technology and knowledge.
• Establish clear boundaries for prohibited assistance under international humanitarian law, providing structured input for AI training and evaluation.
• Design conflict-risk rubrics and scenario-based evaluation tools to assess operational and ethical implications of defense activities.
• Evaluate and refine policy-relevant benchmarks to ensure responsible testing of AI models in defense and humanitarian contexts.
• Contribute written and verbal analyses articulating complex warfighting, targeting, and IHL concepts for interdisciplinary audiences.

Skills

Military operations

International humanitarian law (IHL)

Policy analysis

Technical writing

Verbal communication

Education

Advanced degree in military science / security studies / international law

Job description

Role Title: Military Operations & IHL Expert

Role Type: Contractor

Location: Remote

our partner is engaging Military Operations & IHL Experts to contribute to a prominent defense-policy and humanitarian-law project. In this role, you'll apply your expertise to help train next-generation AI systems. Your work will shape how models learn, reason, and perform through high-quality, real-world input. No prior experience in AI is required — your domain knowledge is what matters. You will leverage your deep understanding of warfighting, weapons targeting, defense operations, and international humanitarian law to support the development of frameworks that responsibly evaluate military and humanitarian scenarios. This is a unique opportunity to influence technology at the intersection of operational expertise and conflict ethics while working alongside other experts at the forefront of these domains.

Scope of Work

• Develop comprehensive taxonomies for military-use and defense operations within diverse conflict contexts.


• Create dual-use triage frameworks that help distinguish between military and civilian applications of technology and knowledge.


• Establish clear boundaries for prohibited assistance under international humanitarian law, providing structured input for AI training and evaluation.


• Design conflict-risk rubrics and scenario-based evaluation tools to assess operational and ethical implications of defense activities.


• Evaluate and refine policy-relevant benchmarks to ensure responsible testing of AI models in defense and humanitarian contexts.


• Contribute written and verbal analyses articulating complex warfighting, targeting, and IHL concepts for interdisciplinary audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant military, defense analysis, or IHL experience; ideally 8–20 years for senior contributors.


• Advanced degree (e.g., MA, LLM, PhD) or equivalent operational experience in military science, security studies, international law, or related fields.


• High credibility and established track record in warfighting, operational planning, targeting law, or humanitarian law application.


• Expertise in interpreting and applying conflict ethics, IHL, and defense policy frameworks in real-world scenarios.


• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey technical and ethical concepts clearly and concisely.


• Experience in research, policy analysis, or advisory roles within military, governmental, legal, or think-tank environments.


• Prior involvement with conflict analysis, war-crimes investigation, or weapons-policy development is a strong plus.

This is a 100% remote contract role, open to applicants worldwide in the countries the employer accepts.