Policy Generalist

Palisade Research; Washington; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health coverage

Unlimited PTO

Long-term disability coverage

Job summary

Palisade Research seeks a policy-focused professional to advance AI policy initiatives from Washington, DC. You will identify opportunities for policy engagement, develop briefings, and coordinate with government, media, and think tanks under the supervision of the Head of Policy.

The role emphasizes advocacy for policy recommendations and building strategic relationships with DC policymakers, journalists, and the nonprofit sector, with hybrid work options.

Qualifications

• Familiarity with AI national security risks and policy implications.
• Excellent oral briefing and meeting management skills.
• Understanding of DC policy processes and congressional workflows.
• Strong ability to engage policymakers, journalists, think tanks, and nonprofit stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities for policy engagement and develop novel ways of engaging policymakers and policy influencers.
• Develop policy recommendations and briefings.
• Engage government, the media and the think tank community under the supervision of our head of policy.
• Advocate for our policy recommendations with the government, media, and the nonprofit community.

Skills

Policy advocacy

Oral briefing

Policy engagement

Stakeholder management

Job description

About Us:

Palisade's mission is to help people and institutions build the understanding needed to avoid permanent disempowerment by strategic AI agents.

We engage Congress, the Executive Branch, and DC's policy ecosystem, and have identified some ways of engaging these communities; however, much remains to be done to inform Congress about these risks and to help them understand policy options to address them. We need people who can conceptualize, develop, and execute on innovative and scalable ways of growing Palisade's policy impact.

Responsibilities:

• Identify opportunities for policy engagement and develop novel ways of engaging policymakers and policy influencers (e.g., journalists, think tanks, etc.)


• Develop policy recommendations and briefings


• Engage government, the media and the think tank community under the supervision of our head of policy


• Advocate for our policy recommendations with the government, media, and the non-profit community

Desired qualifications:

*We expect that a successful candidate will have many, but not all, of these qualifications. Please apply for this role even if you are not sure if you meet them. In particular, if you are a motivated individual who cares about AI policy but is transitioning from another field, please DO apply.*

• Familiarity with AI national security risks, particularly:
  




• Loss of control to powerful AI systems


• Recursive self-improvement


• Catastrophic misuse


• The rapid and exponential pace of AI capabilities growth




• A willingness to dive in and get things done -- a successful employee in this role must be comfortable with a project-based approach where key deliverables might change every few months


• Proven track record of effectively advocating for policy changes for at least 5 years across a range of stakeholders and views. This could include experience in management consulting, startups, the nonprofit sector, or work on Capitol Hill or the Executive Branch


• Excellent oral briefing and meeting management skills


• Understanding of DC policy processes, communities, and mechanisms, such as "how does a bill's sponsor navigate the current Congressional legislative process" or "how does the Department of Commerce make key recommendations to the President?"


• Network of contacts in DC and/or national media or nonprofits that are relevant to this work

Details of position:

• Based in Washington, DC with occasional travel to our Berkeley home office or other locations as required


• Full-time salaried employment; either hybrid or full-time in-person work


• Salary: $120K to $140K per year, dependent on experience


• Benefits: Comprehensive health, dental, and long-term disability coverage, unlimited PTO


• Reports to our Head of Policy, Dave Kasten