AI Emerging Risks Analyst

About The Team

The Intelligence and Investigations team seeks to rapidly identify and mitigate abuse and strategic risks to ensure a safe online ecosystem in close collaboration with our internal and external partners. Our efforts contribute to OpenAI's overarching goal of developing AI that benefits humanity.

About The Role

We are looking for an AI emerging risks analyst to help us understand potential harms and misuse of AI at the frontier in a time of rapid, sustained change. From known threat actors misusing new technologies to new threats enabled by new technologies, we seek to scan available signals and use strategic foresight methodologies to enable proactive detection and mitigation of frontier AI risks.

• Help to provide strategic-level perspective on a range of evolving risk areas, helping to produce actionable understanding of frontier AI risks relevant to OpenAI’s platforms, surfaces, and broader business interests.
• Utilize mixed quantitative and qualitative methodologies to spot early warning signs, pull threads on potentially concerning behavior, and turn weak signals into clear, prioritized risk calls.
• Focus on upstream ecosystem scanning, competitive benchmarking, and external narrative/risk sense-making.
• Work with Global Affairs and Communications teams to share findings in ways that reinforce OpenAI’s role as a leader in the online safety ecosystem.
• Build early warning and measurement capabilities.
• Work with data science and visualization colleagues to shape monitoring views and dashboards that highlight leading indicators and unusual changes from signals spotted off platform to determine whether these are manifesting in user behavior or abuse patterns.
• Pioneer new uses of our own technologies to scale detection and transform workflows.
• Provide strategic analysis and future-looking perspectives.
• Run scenario analyses that explore how AI harms might evolve over the next 6–24 months.
• Design and run tabletop exercises for internal and partner audiences that distill manifest and latent risks at the frontier of AI and identify mitigations.
• Shape safety readiness for new products.
• Contribute to product readiness and launch reviews by laying out expected abuse modes based on broad, upstream understanding.
• Turn risk insights into practical guidance for internal teams (product, marketing, partnerships, comms) and, where appropriate, external partners using OpenAI technologies in social and brand contexts.
• Develop reusable frameworks, playbooks, FAQs, and briefing materials that make it easier for the broader organization to understand AI risks and respond consistently.

Requirements

Significant experience (typically 5+ years) in trust and safety, integrity, security, policy analysis, or intelligence work focused on a range of emerging risks situated in strategic context and translated into actionable intelligence.

Demonstrated ability to analyze complex online harms (e.g., harassment, coordinated abuse, scams, influence operations, brand safety issues) and convert all-source analysis into concrete, prioritized recommendations.

Strong analytical skills and comfort working with both qualitative and quantitative inputs, including: (1) Casework, incident reports, OSINT, product context, and policy frameworks. (2) Basic metrics and trends in partnership with data science (e.g., harm prevalence, severity profiles, exposure, escalation rates).

Experience designing and using risk frameworks and taxonomies (e.g., harm classification schemes, severity/likelihood matrices, prioritization models) to structure ambiguous spaces and support decision-making.

Understanding of the application of foresight methodologies including horizon scanning, scenario planning, tabletop exercises, or simulations.

Proven ability to work cross-functionally with product, engineering, data science, operations, legal, and policy teams, including pushing for clarity on tradeoffs and following through on mitigation work.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience producing concise, executive-ready briefs and explaining sensitive, complex issues in grounded, concrete terms.

Comfort operating in fast-changing, ambiguous environments: you can identify weak signals, form hypotheses, test them quickly, and adjust as the product and threat landscape evolves.

Qualifications

Master’s degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Security Studies, Intelligence Analysis, or a related discipline.

Experience with machine learning, natural language processing, and/or cybersecurity tools and techniques.

Knowledge of international relations, geopolitics, and/or cyber warfare.

Experience with open-source intelligence (OSINT) and threat intelligence.

Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Passion for advancing the responsible development and deployment of AI.

OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.