Strategic Projects Associate, Safety

Handshake; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 108,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

401(k) match

Parental leave

Health benefits

Learning stipend

Remote & Office

PTO

Job summary

Handshake seeks a Safety Strategic Projects Associate to own large-scale human data programs powering frontier AI model training and evaluation. You will design, build, and execute operational workflows for model policy annotation and develop evaluations across policy areas.

You will work hands-on with leading AI labs and tech companies to inform training, evaluation, and enforcement decisions. In a high-ownership, ambiguity-tolerant role, you will influence revenue, margins, delivery quality,

Qualifications

• Recent graduate or near graduation with internship or similar experience in trust and safety, policy enforcement, or related fields.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with an aptitude for data.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, especially with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and execute workflows for model policy annotation at scale.
• Coordinate annotators and ensure consistency and quality across sensitive content.
• Surface insights on policy gaps and ambiguities to inform policy improvements.
• Develop annotation playbooks and guidance across datasets and regulatory domains.
• Analyze annotation data to identify trends and improve safety policies.
• Collaborate with AI labs and internal teams to scope projects and deliver policy programs.

Skills

Communication

Analytical thinking

SQL proficiency

Ownership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

About Handshake

Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.

About Handshake

Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions. In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest‑growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We’ve grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.

Why Join Handshake Now

• Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
• Partner hand‑in‑hand with world‑class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions
• Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders
• Build a massive, fast‑growing business with billions in revenue

About Handshake AI

Human data is the core infrastructure to AI advancement. Frontier AI labs currently improve model capabilities with various data‑intensive post‑training techniques. We believe that data spend for AI training will increase by 3-5x in the next few years and continue for much longer as models take on new domains. Handshake AI supports all of the frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data at the largest scale.

The Role

As a Safety Strategic Projects Associate (SPA), you will own the execution of large‑scale human data programs that directly power frontier AI model training and evaluation. You will design, build, and execute operational workflows supporting model policy annotation and develop evaluations across a range of policy areas. You will use model policy annotation to help inform model training, evaluation, and enforcement decisions across leading AI systems.

Working hands‑on with leading AI labs and technology companies, you will make real‑time decisions that affect revenue, margins, delivery quality, and long‑term customer relationships. This is a high‑ownership, outcomes‑driven role for operators who thrive in ambiguity, move fast with incomplete information, and are accountable for results at scale.

What You’ll Do

• Support the design and iteration of annotation frameworks and labeling workflows that scale while maintaining precision, accuracy, and inter‑rater agreement
• Coordinate trusted annotators and contribute to a culture of consistency, care, and sound judgment when handling sensitive content and complex edge cases
• Partner with policy leads to organize and surface insights on policy gaps, classification ambiguities, and nuanced scenarios identified through annotation work
• Build and maintain detailed annotation playbooks, quality resources, and auditor guidance across diverse datasets and regulatory domains
• Analyze annotation data to identify emerging trends, systemic labeling errors, and opportunities to strengthen internal safety policies
• Work with frontier AI labs and internal stakeholders to support project scoping, issue resolution, and delivery of model policy programs

You Have

• A strong academic record as a recent graduate (or someone graduating soon), ideally with internship or light work experience in trust and safety, policy enforcement, regulatory compliance, risk management, management consulting, government, or a related field
• Strong analytical and first‑principles problem‑solving skills; comfort or aptitude for drawing insights from large datasets (SQL proficiency a plus)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to work effectively with senior stakeholders and customers
• High ownership and a reliable, detail‑oriented approach to execution
• Curiosity and an ability to quickly learn technical AI concepts and industry trends

Bonus Points

• STEM background or exposure to technical concepts (e.g., data, software, or AI)
• Experience supporting policy enforcement or content‑review workflows across large, distributed workforces
• Familiarity with high‑severity policy harms, including violent activities, dangerous organizations or individuals, or sexual activities
• Experience developing evaluations for harmful‑content or policy‑enforcement use cases

Note: This role involves exposure to sensitive or explicit content (e.g., violent, sexual, or otherwise disturbing material) as part of safety and policy evaluation work.

The below benefits are for full‑time US employees.

We Offer

• Ownership: Equity in a fast‑growing company
• Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
• Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
• Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
• Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
• Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
• Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
• Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.

Compensation Range: $120K