Biosecurity & Synthetic Biology Expert

About the role

Biosecurity & Synthetic Biology Experts are needed to contribute advanced domain expertise to a critical customer's project involving biosecurity evaluation frameworks. The role involves applying expertise to help train next-generation AI systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop a comprehensive taxonomy for biological misuse scenarios, incorporating current and emergent threats.
• Design safe and realistic evaluation scenarios to test biosafety measures and dual-use risk protocols.
• Establish robust severity ratings for biological risks, supporting nuanced threat modeling and mitigation strategies.
• Conduct rigorous false-negative reviews of draft benchmarks to ensure both protective and pragmatic outcomes.
• Advise on lab safety protocols, pathogen containment strategies, and dual-use governance best practices.
• Contribute written and verbal insights to documentation, scenario development, and cross-functional communication.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to contextualize biological misuse risks for public-health impact modeling.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in biosecurity, biorisk management, synthetic biology, or a related field; 8–20 years preferred for senior contributors.
• Advanced degree, professional certification, or equivalent operational experience in biosecurity, synthetic biology, or public health.
• Deep familiarity with laboratory safety protocols, dual-use research governance, and biological threat modeling.
• Hands-on experience as a biorisk officer, synthetic biology researcher, public-health biodefense specialist, government biosecurity advisor, or lab director.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and review threat scenarios and risk taxonomies with high domain credibility.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a commitment to precise and actionable input.
• Experience engaging with multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral teams in research, policy, or safety-critical environments.