Business Operations Associate
FAR.AI is a non-profit AI research institute dedicated to ensuring advanced AI is safe and beneficial for everyone. We work at the intersection of machine learning, safety research, and policy, supporting a global community of researchers and practitioners. Since our founding in July 2022, we've grown to 40+ staff, produced 30+ influential academic papers, and established leading AI Safety events for research and international cooperation. Our work is recognized globally, with publications at premier venues and features in the Financial Times, Nature News, Forbes, and MIT Technology Review. We drive practical change through red-teaming with frontier model developers and government institutions, and help steer the AI safety field through research roadmaps with renowned researchers like Yoshua Bengio. We also operate FAR.Labs, an AI safety-focused co-working space in Berkeley.
About the role
We are hiring a Business Operations Associate to support our Business Operations Manager and work closely with our COO and leaders across the organization. This is a hands-on generalist role with a broad remit: you will own the compliance tracker, provide finance and accounting support, assist with HR operations, assist with travel and events, support FAR.Labs, help with IT coordination, and take on special projects as they arise. You will report to our Business Operations Manager and collaborate closely with our COO. No two weeks will look the same, and that is by design.
FAR.AI is scaling fast—we are 45 people today and expect to grow to 75+ by the end of the year. This role owns the recurring work that keeps FAR.AI moving. Partnering with our Business Operations Manager, you’ll be the dependable center of our operations, ensuring nothing slips and teams trust you to handle it. The operations function is being built, not maintained, offering real room to grow if you excel.
Responsibilities
- Own operational tickets, triaging incoming requests, and providing first-responder support across the team. Maintain policies, drive continuous improvement, and clear roadblocks.
- Own and maintain FAR.AI’s compliance calendar, tracking federal, state, and local filing deadlines and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Support systematization and automation of compliance obligations and financial operations.
- Provide initial IT support and coordinate with vendors to keep the team's tools and systems running. Coordinate equipment provisioning and sourcing.
- Support onboarding and offboarding processes, HR compliance, employment policies, and maintenance of the company handbook.
- Support operations of FAR.Labs, including event logistics.
- Take on ad hoc operations projects as they arise, ranging from vendor coordination, goal tracking, internal policies, and process improvement.
Requirements
- Evidence of real results in past roles—deliverables or problems solved while juggling multiple responsibilities. Experience level matters less than demonstrated impact.
- Comfort working across multiple operational domains simultaneously: finance, HR, compliance, IT, and projects. You don’t need to be an expert but must learn quickly.
- Strong written and verbal communication. You can write clear emails, summarize situations accurately, and ask good questions.
- Reliable with details, especially on compliance and finance tasks, where missed deadlines or errors have real consequences. You flag issues proactively.
- Demonstrated service mindset. You get energy from helping others succeed—no job is too big or too small.
Nice-to-Have Qualifications
- Experience in fast-paced, highly ambiguous environments (e.g., startups, nimble nonprofits, or high-growth teams).
- High-agency problem-solving: you’ve identified needs or better ways to do things and brought solutions to life.
- Experience with impact-driven organizations or passion for AI safety.
- Familiarity with tools like Coda, Notion, Asana, CRMs, or similar operational software.
- Fluency with AI tools and workflows, applying judgment on when to use them.
- Prior experience in operations.
Benefits
- Compensation: $90,000–$110,000/year, depending on experience.
- Work-related travel and equipment expenses covered.
- Catered lunch and dinner at our Berkeley office.
Schedule
- Full-time (40 hours/week).
- Location: Berkeley, CA (onsite/hybrid).