Senior Research Scientist - AI Safety

Methodfi; City of London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI research company in London is seeking a Senior Research Scientist to drive high-impact AI safety research. You will lead evaluations and red-teaming projects in sensitive areas, contributing to the safety and deployment of AI systems. The ideal candidate has a strong background in applied AI safety and machine learning, with proficiency in frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow. The company offers benefits such as unlimited annual leave, private healthcare, and hybrid working options.

Benefits

Unlimited Annual Leave Policy

Private healthcare and dental

Enhanced parental leave

Family-Friendly Flexibility

Hybrid Working

Qualifications

• Track record of high-impact AI research with academic publications or equivalent experience.
• Deep domain knowledge in language models and generative AI architectures.
• Ability to oversee complex technical research projects.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive high-impact AI research themes in safety.
• Shape Faculty’s AI safety research agenda by identifying impactful opportunities.
• Lead technical research in the AI Safety space, from concept to publication.

Skills

Applied AI safety

Machine learning experience

Deep learning frameworks

Python engineering

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

HuggingFace ecosystem

Job description

Why Faculty?

We established Faculty in 2014 because we thought that AI would be the most important technology of our time. Since then, we’ve worked with over 350 global customers to transform their performance through human-centric AI. You can read about our real-world impact here.

We don’t chase hype cycles. We innovate, build and deploy responsible AI which moves the needle - and we know a thing or two about doing it well. We bring an unparalleled depth of technical, product and delivery expertise to our clients who span government, finance, retail, energy, life sciences and defence.

Our business, and reputation, is growing fast and we’re always on the lookout for individuals who share our intellectual curiosity and desire to build a positive legacy through technology.

AI is an epoch-defining technology, join a company where you’ll be empowered to envision its most powerful applications, and to make them happen.

About the Team

Faculty’s Research team conducts critical red teaming and builds evaluations for misuse capabilities in sensitive areas, such as CBRN, cybersecurity and international security, for several leading frontier model developers and national safety institutes; notably, our work has been featured in OpenAI's system card for o1.

Our commitment also extends to conducting fundamental technical research on mitigation strategies, with our findings published in peer-reviewed conferences and delivered to national security institutes. Complementing this, we design evaluations for model developers across broader safety-relevant fields, including the societal impacts of increasingly capable frontier models, showcasing our expertise across the safety landscape.

About the role

We are seeking a Senior Research Scientist to join our high-impact R&D. You will lead novel research that advances scientific understanding and fuels our ambition to build safe AI systems. This is a crucial opportunity to join a small, high-agency team conducting vital red teaming and evaluations for frontier models in sensitive areas like cybersecurity and national security. You'll shape the future of safe AI deployment in the real world.

What you'll be doing:

• Owning and driving forward high-impact AI research themes in AI safety.
• Contributing to the wider vision and development of Faculty’s AI safety research agenda.
• Supporting Faculty’s positioning as a leader in AI safety through thought leadership and stakeholder engagement.
• Shaping our research agenda by identifying impactful opportunities and balancing scientific and practical priorities.
• Leading technical research within the AI Safety space, from concept to publication.
• Supporting the delivery of evaluations and red-teaming projects in high-risk domains, such as CBRN and cybersecurity, with government and commercial partners.

Who we're looking for:

• You have a track record of working with high-impact AI research, evidenced by top-tier academic publications or equivalent experience.
• You bring proven experience or a clear passion for Applied AI safety, perhaps from labs, academia, or evaluation and red-teaming roles.
• You possess deep domain knowledge in language models and generative AI model architectures, including fine-tuning techniques beyond API-level implementation.
• You have practical machine learning experience, with a focus on areas such as robustness, explainability, or uncertainty estimation.
• You are proficient with deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar) and familiar with the HuggingFace ecosystem or equivalent ML tooling.
• You have demonstrable Python engineering experience to build and support robust research projects.
• You have the ability to conduct and oversee complex technical research projects and possess excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Our Recruitment Ethos

We aim to grow the best team - not the most similar one. We know that diversity of individuals fosters diversity of thought, and that strengthens our principle of seeking truth. And we know from experience that diverse teams deliver better work, relevant to the world in which we live. We’re united by a deep intellectual curiosity and desire to use our abilities for measurable positive impact. We strongly encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, religions and sexual orientations.

Some of our standout benefits:

• Unlimited Annual Leave Policy
• Private healthcare and dental
• Enhanced parental leave
• Family-Friendly Flexibility & Flexible working
• Sanctus Coaching
• Hybrid Working (2 days in our Old Street office, London)

If you don’t feel you meet all the requirements, but are excited by the role and know you bring some key strengths, please do apply or reach out to our Talent Acquisition team for a confidential chat - [e-mail]. Please know we are open to conversations about part-time roles or condensed hours.