Virologist – AI Safety and Evaluations

10a Labs; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

10a Labs is seeking a Virologist to design and execute rigorous evaluations of advanced AI systems, including LLMs, for biological knowledge, safety, and security implications. The role focuses on developing benchmarks, conducting red-teaming, and communicating findings to multidisciplinary teams.

The candidate will work with scientists, engineers, and AI researchers to assess capabilities and potential misuse risks in a remote United States setting, with in-person onboarding considerations as

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent experience in virology or related biological science.
• Experience with pathogenic viruses, bacteria, or similar systems.
• Strong knowledge of biological research methods and experimental design.
• Understanding biosecurity and dual-use research risks.
• Experience critically evaluating scientific literature and methodologies.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills for multidisciplinary audiences.

Responsibilities

• Design benchmarks and evaluation methodologies for AI models' biological knowledge.
• Conduct model evaluations and red-teaming to assess misuse risks.
• Develop scenarios and tasks across virology and microbiology domains.
• Assess AI-generated outputs for technical accuracy and biosafety implications.
• Identify misuse scenarios involving biological agents and dual-use tech.
• Contribute to evaluation criteria, rubrics, and measurement methods.
• Collaborate with AI researchers and engineers to implement scalable evaluations.
• Analyze results and contribute to technical reports and client deliverables.

Skills

Biological analysis

Analytical thinking

Scientific communication

Education

PhD in Virology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology or related field

Tools

Python

Command-line tools

Job description

About 10a Labs: 10a Labs is the safety and threat-intelligence layer trusted by frontier AI labs, AI unicorns, Fortune 10 companies, and leading global technology platforms. Our adversarial red teaming, model evaluations, and intelligence collection enable engineering, safety, and security teams to stay ahead of evolving threats and deploy AI systems safely.

We are primarily seeking candidates based in the Washington, DC, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, and Denver metropolitan areas. Candidates hired in these locations will be expected to work from a 10a Labs office at least two days per week.

All new hires will participate in in-person onboarding in Washington, DC, New York City, or San Francisco during their first week. Occasional travel may also be required for interviews, in-person meetings, and other business needs.

Position Overview

We are seeking a Virologist with expertise in virology, microbiology, and biosecurity to support the design and execution of technical evaluations of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems, including Large Language Models (LLMs).

The ideal candidate will have a strong scientific background in biological research, an understanding of dual-use biological risks, and an interest in evaluating the capabilities and potential misuse risks of emerging AI technologies.

This role will focus on developing scientifically rigorous benchmarks, designing and conducting model evaluations, and assessing AI-generated scientific outputs for technical accuracy, feasibility, and potential implications for biological safety and security. The candidate will work closely with multidisciplinary teams of scientists, AI researchers, and engineers to develop evaluation methodologies and communicate findings to stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and develop scientific benchmarks and evaluation methodologies to assess the biological knowledge, reasoning, and technical capabilities of advanced AI models.
• Conduct model capability evaluations and red-teaming exercises to assess potential biological misuse risks associated with advanced AI systems.
• Develop scientifically grounded evaluation scenarios, questions, and tasks spanning virology, microbiology, and other relevant biological domains.
• Assess AI-generated scientific outputs for technical accuracy, feasibility, completeness, and potential implications for biosecurity.
• Identify and characterize potential misuse scenarios involving biological agents, dual-use research, and emerging AI capabilities.
• Contribute to the development of evaluation criteria, scoring rubrics, and methodologies for measuring model performance and potential capability uplift.
• Collaborate with AI researchers, engineers, and subject matter experts to develop and implement scalable evaluation approaches, including automated benchmarks.
• Analyze evaluation results, identify patterns in model capabilities and limitations, and contribute to technical reports and client deliverables.
• Stay informed of emerging developments in biological research, AI capabilities, biosecurity risks, and relevant AI safety frameworks to inform evaluation design.

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD in Virology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, or a closely related biological science, or equivalent practical experience.
• Research experience involving pathogenic viruses, bacteria, or other biologically relevant systems.
• Strong understanding of biological research methods, experimental design, and the technical challenges associated with biological research and development.
• Demonstrated knowledge of biosecurity principles, dual-use biological research, and potential biological misuse risks.
• Experience critically evaluating scientific literature, experimental methodologies, and technical research outputs.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to assess complex scientific information for accuracy, feasibility, and technical limitations.
• Experience preparing technical reports, presenting scientific findings, and communicating complex concepts to multidisciplinary audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience conducting AI model evaluations, developing scientific benchmarks, or assessing the capabilities and limitations of LLMs.
• Experience with AI red-teaming, biological risk assessments, or evaluating potential misuse scenarios involving emerging technologies.
• Hands-on experience in virology or microbiology laboratories, including work in BSL-2 or higher containment environments.
• Experience using command-line tools, programming languages (e.g., Python), or computational approaches relevant to biological research.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted biological research tools, including applications in experimental design, bioinformatics, or scientific reasoning.
• Understanding of biological weapons threats, dual-use research concerns, and potential biosecurity risk mitigation approaches.
• Familiarity with AI safety and capability assessment frameworks, including approaches used to evaluate biological and chemical risks associated with advanced AI systems.
• Awareness of relevant biosecurity policies, international agreements, and stakeholders, including the Biological Weapons Convention.
• Experience developing evaluation datasets, scoring rubrics, or structured methodologies for assessing scientific performance.
• Demonstrated experience applying AI tools to biological research workflows, scientific analysis, or benchmark development.
• Interest in emerging AI capabilities and their implications for scientific research, biological security, and AI safety.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate combines deep biological expertise with strong scientific reasoning and an interest in understanding the capabilities and limitations of advanced AI systems. They are comfortable designing challenging scientific evaluation tasks, critically assessing technical outputs, and translating complex biological concepts into structured, measurable evaluation criteria.

They are particularly interested in developing rigorous and reproducible approaches to assessing AI capabilities and potential risks, and enjoy collaborating across scientific and technical disciplines.

• Duration: Per Needed Basis
• Commitment: Dependent on work load
• Location: Remote – United States
• Employment Type: Contract