Incubated Founder

About the role

Atlas Computing is launching a selective program for individuals with deep domain expertise and the drive to address the most important risks facing society from growing AI capabilities. The program aims to lower the barriers to entry for founders tackling complex, high-impact problems in catastrophic AI risk.

Responsibilities

• Identify, scope, and launch interventions that aren't a good fit for existing organizations.
• Develop and staff product requirements documents for coordination and market failures.
• Work with domain experts and decision-makers to develop a concrete intervention.
• Build relationships and a founding team to execute the intervention.
• Develop a grant proposal in partnership with an interested donor.
• Iterate a rough idea into a fundable, executable plan.

Requirements

• Deep domain expertise in areas such as cybersecurity, ML security research, or relevant industries.
• Exceptional capability in relevant areas, including academic security research, security entrepreneurship, developing security standards, or AI hardware/firmware.
• A practice of reviewing the state-of-the-art after having an idea and an urge to prototype, test, and iterate.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Comfort with uncertainty and interest in shaping our culture.
• A strong compulsion to do something about AI risk.

Qualifications

• Experience working on cybersecurity in a national security context (building SL5 facilities, intelligence, or offensive security).
• Experience in ML security research (tamper resistance, backdoors, password locking).
• Experience in a relevant industry context (frontier AI labs, security at hyperscalers, hardware companies, government contractors).
• Exceptional capability in relevant areas.
• Able to clearly articulate plans, verbally and in writing, to coordinate and motivate others.

Skills

• Ability to break down ambiguous problems into clear next steps.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Comfort with uncertainty and interest in shaping our culture.
• A strong compulsion to do something about AI risk.

Benefits

• Lower the barriers to entry for founders.
• Meaningfully raise the odds that the effort you launch succeeds.
• Support you in finding your next role if there's not a mutually satisfactory project to scale up.

Pay

$150,000 - $250,000 a year. More senior candidates may be eligible for higher than this maximum salary.

Schedule

Remote, with many calls in Pacific Time. Preference for candidates based in the US. Likely ~20% travel.