Research Scientist, Harmful Manipulation, DeepMind

Google LLC; New York (NY); On-site; USD 174,000 - 252,000; Full time

Job summary

Google DeepMind in the United States is seeking a Research Scientist to advance Harmful Manipulation research within the Responsible Development and Innovation team. You will design evaluations, probe AI-driven user interactions, and publish novel methodologies.

You will collaborate with cross-functional partners, inform mitigation and governance decisions, and contribute to practical safeguards for high‑capability models, balancing safety with innovation.

Qualifications

• PhD required or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience designing evaluations or studies on tech manipulation, persuasion, or social phenomena.

Responsibilities

• Partner cross-functionally to design and implement evaluations identifying Harmful Manipulation-related capabilities and publish methodologies.
• Collaborate across teams for holistic risk assessments and deployment safeguards adequacy.
• Assist mitigation efforts and share actionable insights across Google.
• Engage with external research communities and stakeholders including government and academic partners.

Skills

Evaluation design

AI safety

Cross-functional collaboration

Research communication

Publications

Project leadership

Education

PhD in Psychology, Political Science, Computational Social Science, Computer Science, or related field

Job description

Research Scientist, Harmful Manipulation, DeepMind

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: New York, NY, USA; London, UK; Mountain View, CA, USA.

Minimum qualifications:

• PhD degree in Psychology, Political Science, Computational Social Science, Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience designing evaluations or studies to investigate the intersections of technology and manipulation, persuasion, social engineering, or related social phenomena.

Preferred qualifications:

• Track record of driving complex projects, including in research settings.
• Track record of publications in high impact domain-relevant conferences or journals (NeurIPS, CHI, FAccT, etc).
• Ability to leverage AI tools to build and accelerate research pipelines or safety benchmark development.
• Commitment to translating research insights into practical applications and working with cross-functional teams.

About the job

At DeepMind, the frontier of AI brings extraordinary opportunities and unprecedented responsibilities.

As part of the Responsible Development and Innovation (ReDI) team, you will be responsible for researching emerging risks within the Harmful Manipulation risk domain, developing and implementing novel evaluations to drive understanding of AI-driven harmful manipulation. Your work will range from conducting technical investigations, probing how DeepMind’s most advanced AI models interact with and influence users, to informing mitigation and governance decisions, to publishing on novel methodologies and engaging with external stakeholders. You will have an opportunity to bridge research and practice, contributing novel approaches to help inform model development and deployment.

Artificial intelligence will be one of humanity’s most transformative inventions. At Google DeepMind, we are a pioneering AI lab with exceptional interdisciplinary teams focused on advancing AI development to solve complex global challenges and accelerate high-quality product innovation for billions of users. We use our technologies for widespread public benefit and scientific discovery, ensuring safety and ethics are always our highest priority.

We are pushing the boundaries across multiple domains. Our global teams offer diverse learning opportunities and varied career pathways for those driven to achieve exceptional results through collective effort.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $174000 - $252000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Partner cross-functionally to design and implement evaluations identifying Harmful Manipulation-related capabilities and risks; publish on novel methodologies and capabilities insights
• Collaborate across teams to carry out holistic risk assessments, including determining if deployment safeguards are adequate for high-capability models.
• Work across evaluation and mitigation teams to assist mitigation efforts, while collaborating across Google to provide novel and actionable insights.
• Engage with external research community and stakeholders, including governmental entities, national safety institutes, third-party organisations (including the Frontier Model Forum), external subject matter experts, and academic communities.

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