Senior Research Fellow
Institute for Law and AI
📍 Remote (Global) 🕔 Full Time
💰$100,000 – $154,000 🔄 Rolling Applications
The Institute for Law & AI (LawAI) is looking for (Senior) Research Fellows to join its team to conduct legal research at the intersection of law and artificial intelligence. The salary range for a Research Fellow is $100,000 – $121,000 and for a Senior Research Fellow is $120,000 – $154,000, depending on experience and location. There is flexibility in salary for exceptional candidates with significant experience, for example, candidates with more than a decade of experience working in relevant federal agencies, advising members of Congress on technology policy, conducting academic research on administrative law, or drafting model legislation.
If you’re looking for a supportive and rigorous research environment where you can make an impact by tackling difficult questions at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence, policy, and law, apply here. There is no deadline for this role, and we will be reviewing applications every two months.
NOTE: This is a full-time, long-term role. We also offer one-year Research Scholar positions, ideal for candidates looking to break into the field and senior candidates looking to visit LawAI for a limited time.
About the Role
Research Fellows at LawAI engage in foundational research at the intersection of law and artificial intelligence to further our understanding of promising paths to beneficial AI policy. The Research Team also conducts policy research and legal analyses for governments, international organizations, and other public institutions as well as private actors.
Our researchers work on a variety of topics relevant to artificial intelligence, law, and policy, as outlined in this overview of our Workstreams and Research Directions. You can find further examples of our work on our Research page.
Our current focus areas include:
Institutions and procedures
Law & compute
International regulatory institutions
Liability and insurance
AI agents and the rule of law
Your responsibilities might include:
Self-guided research. Working independently and collaborating with team members and external stakeholders on academic papers, policy reports, and policy submissions.
Responsive consulting. Preparing legal and policy analyses in response to requests from governments, international organizations, and other public institutions as well as private actors.
Feedback and guidance. Providing feedback on others’ work throughout the research process.
Project development. Developing and presenting research proposals in our current workstreams and research directions.
Confidentiality. Handling confidential and potentially sensitive information carefully and professionally.
Depending on your background and interests, your responsibilities might also include:
Information gathering and analysis. Monitoring new technical, legal, and policy developments relevant to AI; analyzing legislative and regulatory proposals; analyzing white papers, comments, and other materials articulating the policy and legal positions of major AI developers, deployers, and infrastructure providers.
Internal mentorship. Managing another researcher, such as a Research Scholar or a participant in our summer or winter fellowship programs.
External mentorship. Providing mentorship to promising students and other talent working in AI law & policy.
Policy engagement. Engaging with and advising policymakers.
Research communication. Attending and presenting at events and conferences and building relationships with experts and decision-makers in AI, law, policy, and related fields.
About You
You might be a good fit for this work if you:
Prioritize research questions relevant to ensuring that advances in artificial intelligence are beneficial and safe for the public. You are motivated to identify and research questions relevant to addressing risks posed by artificial intelligence. You believe that the potentially transformative impacts of artificial intelligence merit rigorous, thoughtful research, even if (or precisely because) we are uncertain of what the future may hold. You are motivated to work on projects that could have real implications for promoting security, welfare, and the rule of law for all people.
Gravitate toward work that is action-relevant and has a practical bent. You prioritize questions that can meaningfully improve our understanding of the tools, limitations, and tradeoffs of governing advanced artificial intelligence. Even when your goal is purely to describe the world as it is, you do so with an eye toward concretely progressing the state of knowledge rather than answering interesting, but inconsequential questions. You frequently ask “but who actually cares about this answer?” and “what information would they need to make a better-informed decision?” You want to help researchers, policymakers, and other key decision-makers have more accurate views of the world and the choices available to them.
Care about seeking truth. You want to accurately evaluate the evidence (even when it is inconvenient). You want to convey your level of (un)certainty in your conclusions and reason transparently so that people can identify flaws or shortcomings in your analysis. You make recommendations when you believe they are well-supported and hold back when they aren’t. You see research as an iterative process whereby critique and discussion are essential to achieving a better result.
Have a legal background. You might have worked at a law firm, in academia, in government, or in an organization that tries to inform governments, such as a think tank. We expect that the most promising candidates typically have a JD, another graduate degree in a relevant field of expertise, or equivalent qualifications from other jurisdictions, but this is not a hard requirement.
Have a demonstrated ability to produce excellent work. You have a strong track record of academic publications, policy reports, or other research outputs. Or you may have achieved impressive results in other ways.
Are familiar with legal and policy questions relevant to AI. While the field is nascent, our dream candidate would have professional experience working on AI issues specifically.
Are self-directed and proactive.
Work well in teams. You collaborate well on longer projects as well as time-sensitive requests, and you are motivated to help others succeed. You both give and are receptive to constructive feedback.
Have excellent written communication skills. You can articulate your views clearly and with strong reasoning transparency. You are able to convey complex legal concepts in an accessible and nuanced way.
Have excellent analytical and critical thinking skills.
Can travel 2-3 times a year for team retreats and conferences, typically in the United States.
This role might also benefit from you having some of the following qualifications, although you could still be a highly competitive candidate even if you don’t have any of them:
Ability to evaluate and prioritize projects based on their expected impact.
Experience with legislative drafting or policy analysis. You may have been a legislative staffer, assisting with formulation of federal policy and legislative strategy.
Experience with policymaking and lobbying.
Empirical skills that can help you evaluate the quality of evidence relied upon in your research.
Subject-matter expertise. You might have a technical background, such as a degree in computer science, or expert knowledge of a particularly valuable area of the law, like administrative law.
All of the above said, there’s no such thing as a perfect candidate; we don’t expect a successful hire to excel in all of the dimensions here. If you are on the fence about applying because you are unsure whether you are qualified, we strongly encourage you to apply. Candidates with less than one year of experience in AI law & policy may be a better fit for the Research Scholar program.
Other Details
Compensation
The salary range for this role is $100,000 – $121,000 for Research Fellows and $120,000 – $154,000 for Senior Research Fellows, depending on experience and location. For exceptional candidates whose experience exceeds our expectations in terms of relevance and seniority, we may consider higher compensation. Exceptional candidates might include those with more than a decade of experience working in relevant federal agencies, advising members of Congress on technology policy, conducting academic research on administrative law, or drafting model legislation.
Responsibilities and title will depend on experience. As a rough guide, candidates who have a relevant graduate degree and under five years of relevant professional experience should expect to come in as a Research Fellow; candidates with ten or more will more likely come in as a Senior Research Fellow. These determinations are made on a case-by-case basis and depend on the relevance of experience and the depth and rarity of expertise. You can indicate on your application form whether you would only like to be considered for one role title.
Start Date
We are open to candidates starting at a time that suits them, but ideally no longer than three months from receiving an offer.
Time Zones & Location
This is a full-time, permanent position with flexible work hours and location. We are based primarily in the US, but have staff working from many different countries.
Visas
We may be able to sponsor visas in some instances for this role, but individual eligibility is not within our control.
Benefits
Our benefits include:
A fully remote work environment and flexible working hours
Five weeks of PTO recommended per year, plus public holidays
Twelve weeks of paid parental leave that can be taken prior to birth or adoption and during the first year, with the option to take additional unpaid leave
Employer pension or matching 401(k) contribution up to 4% of your salary
Health insurance for employees residing in countries without nationalized healthcare
An annual stipend of $4000 per year for productivity and professional development support
An annual stipend of $4000 per year for mental health support
An annual stipend of $2500 per year for equipment and office supplies
A friendly, open work culture that encourages feedback and close collaboration, and a team that appreciates the contributions of all team members
Diversity and Equal Opportunity
We aim to employ people with many different experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who share our mission. We are committed to creating an environment where all employees have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their race, religion, disability, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation.
Requests for Accommodation
If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability or incompatible assistive technology, please contact hiring@law-ai.org to request reasonable accommodations.
Application Process
If you think you might be a good fit for the role but are unsure whether you should apply, we strongly encourage you to do so.
Application Form— Fill out the application form (1-2 hrs). There is no deadline, and we will be reviewing applications every two months.
Work Test— Invitation to take a work test (~2hrs) designed to simulate the work you would do if hired and/or evaluate certain skills important for success in the role
Interviews— Remote interviews & optional reference checks
Work Trial— A paid work trial of one or more days (remote or in-person) to allow you and us to see what it would be like if you worked at LawAI. (We recognize people’s scheduling constraints and will work with candidates to find an option that works for them).
We believe it’s worthwhile to invest significant time in hiring in order to build the strongest possible team. We realize our hiring process is unusually demanding, and we offer monetary honorariums for completing our work trial, partly to ensure financial constraints do not keep candidates from applying, and partly to demonstrate that we respect and appreciate the time that applicants put into the assessment process.Employment Offer
