Senior Research Scientist, AI Biosecurity Assessments | On Site - Full Time Onsite (Cambridge, MA; Berkeley, CA)

Dover; Cambridge, Berkeley (MA, CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Flexible PTO

Parental leave (minimum 12 weeks)

Conference sponsorships

Development allowance

401(k) match

Job summary

Dover is seeking a Senior Research Scientist to assess AI models for biosecurity risks before public release. You will run evaluation pipelines, analyze results, and write risk summaries for partners and regulatory bodies.

Ideal candidates hold a PhD in pathogen biology or related field, with wet-lab experience preferred, and have fluency in Python and technical writing. This is a remote-friendly, full-time role with strong collaboration across teams.

Qualifications

• PhD in pathogen biology or closely related field; wet-lab experience preferred.
• Strategic judgment on mapping evaluation results to real-world biological risk and safeguards.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate models for dual-use biological risks before release; run assessment pipelines and write risk reports.
• Carry out high-quality capability and safeguard assessments with AI firms and internal teams.
• Analyze model behavior and align results with threat models and risk levels.
• Synthesize findings into clear evaluation reports and risk summaries for partners and regulators.
• Contribute to papers, reports, and trends in capabilities.

Skills

Python programming

Technical writing

Strategic judgment

Biology domain knowledge

Education

PhD in pathogen biology or closely related field

Tools

Inspect AI framework

LLM/agent systems evaluation

Job description

Senior Research Scientist, AI Biosecurity Assessments

Project/Division: AI, Applied Research

Start date: As soon as possible

Status: Full-time

Work location: Remote within US, with offices in Cambridge, MA and Berkeley, CA

Reports to: Head of Applied Research

The role

You will evaluate models for dual-use biological risks before they are released publicly, running technical assessment pipelines, analyzing model behavior, and writing the reports that inform relevant audiences of any risks identified.

Responsibilities

• Work with AI firms and internal research and engineering teams to carry out high quality, informative capability and safeguard assessments of emerging AI models.
• Execute evaluation pipelines, analyze data and identify how results align with relevant threat models and risk levels.
• Manually assess models for both willingness and knowledge across specialized domains of biology.
• Synthesize findings into clear evaluation reports, technical write-ups, and risk summaries for partners and regulatory bodies.
• Contribute to papers, reports, and trends in capabilities.

Qualifications

• A strong candidate would have the following qualifications
• A PhD in pathogen biology, microbiology, virology, or a closely related field. We will consider equivalent depth from other paths, but expect most strong applicants to hold a doctorate. Wet-lab experience is preferred.
• Strategic judgment about how evaluation results map onto real-world biological risk, and about where technical safeguards succeed and fail.
• Deep interest in safeguards and their failure modes, alongside contributory biological capabilities.
• Ability to turn complex technical results into clear, well-structured writing.
• Comfort with short, intensive project cycles and shifting priorities with emerging model releases.

Preferred

• Roughly a year of coding in an industry or graduate research setting, and working fluency in Python.
• Direct experience with the Inspect AI framework, or with building and evaluating LLM or agent systems more broadly.
• Familiarity with biosecurity policy, threat assessment, or counterterrorism work.
• Experience working with AI developers, or in a regulated or NDA-heavy environment.

About Company

Mission-driven international team dedicated to protecting the world from biological threats. Through in-house research and development and collaborations with experts across academia, industry, and government, we build the tools, technologies, and institutions the world needs to be secure against future biotechnology.

Benefits

Our employee benefits reflect our belief in investing to build the strongest possible team, in which everyone receives the trust and support they need to excel. Our benefits package includes:

• Comprehensive healthcare coverage, including health, dental & vision insurance, as well as a yearly mental health allowance for every employee.
• Flexible work hours; unlimited paid time off (PTO) for all employees; and minimum 12 weeks fully-paid parental leave.
• Professional development opportunities, including fully-paid conference sponsorships and a yearly development allowance for every employee.
• Employer 401(k) match up to salary.

We’re committed to fostering a culture of inclusion, and we encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. We especially encourage applications from women, gender minorities, and people of color who are excited about contributing to our mission, and are happy to consider applicants from overseas. We’re an equal opportunity employer.