EmergingAI biosecurity and scientific misuse assessment

AI Biosecurity Policy Analyst

Also called AI Biological Risk Policy Researcher

An AI Biosecurity Policy Analyst weighs the options for managing biological risk from AI systems and sets out what is feasible. They help a company make defensible decisions on safeguards, access and governance.

What they do

The analyst takes a specific question, such as how to handle access to a model with strong biology capabilities, and lays out the policy options. They read evaluation results from secured testing and work out what those results do and do not show. They talk to evaluators, safeguards engineers and biosecurity experts to test technical assumptions. They then write analysis that states those assumptions, compares options and names where each one would break in practice. They also map who would need to act, how a control would be checked and what could be gamed. Much of the job is translating between technical teams and decision makers.

What a strong hire delivers

In the first months, a strong hire delivers a clear picture of the company's current biological risk position and where decisions are being made without a stated basis. They produce a first piece of policy analysis that leadership can act on, with assumptions and limits written down. They set up a repeatable way to review risk evidence and bring evaluation, safeguards and governance teams onto the same page.

How you can tell they are good

Ask for a past piece of analysis, redacted if needed, and have them walk through it. A strong candidate separates what the evidence shows from what they assumed. They can explain why an option that looks good on paper might fail to be implemented. They are comfortable saying where biology expertise ends and policy judgement begins. Be wary of sweeping statements with no stated limits.

Why it is hard to fill

Hardly anyone holds this title. The work is usually done inside biosecurity, safety, policy or evaluation roles, so job titles tell you little. The mix is rare: enough life sciences to challenge a technical claim, enough policy skill to write something usable, and enough familiarity with model evaluation to read the evidence. Candidates often also face vetting and sensitivity constraints, which narrows the pool further.

Where to find them

Look at biosecurity and biosafety professionals who have moved toward AI, and at policy researchers with a life sciences grounding. Others come from authorised model evaluation teams, frontier lab safety or policy groups, government science and security advisory bodies, and research institutes working on catastrophic risk. Some sit in trust and safety or risk teams, doing this work under a broader title.

Indicative pay

Not enough published evidence yet to give a fair range for this role, which is common for work this new. We benchmark it for you as part of a search.

Interview questions for an AI Biosecurity Policy Analyst

  1. Describe a policy recommendation you made on a biological risk question. What technical assumptions did it rest on?

    A strong answer names specific assumptions, says how they were checked and shows how the recommendation would change if one failed. Worry if assumptions were never stated or if the candidate cannot say what was uncertain.

  2. How would you read the results of a secured model evaluation for biological capability when deciding on access controls?

    Good answers cover what the test measured, its limits, elicitation effort and the gap between test conditions and real use. They treat results as evidence, not proof. Worry if they treat one score as decisive.

4 more questions, with what a strong answer covers, are in the Role Kit.

Job description you can post

We are building AI systems and need to manage the biological risks they could create. We are looking for an analyst to assess policy options, test the technical assumptions behind them and give leadership clear, usable advice on safeguards, access and governance.

What you will do

  • Analyse policy options for managing AI-related biological risk
  • Interpret results from secured evaluations and safeguards testing
  • Write policy analysis that states technical assumptions and implementation limits
  • Work with evaluation, safeguards and security teams to test claims
  • Design and run risk-review processes
  • Advise leadership on governance and decision thresholds
  • Handle sensitive information responsibly

What you will bring

  • Demonstrated policy or institutional analysis in biosecurity, biosafety or a related field
  • Strong grounding in life sciences, shown through work
  • Experience reading and critiquing technical evidence
  • Clear writing for non-specialist decision makers
  • Sound judgement on sensitive information
  • Ability to work across technical and governance teams

Nice to have

  • Experience with authorised model evaluation or red teaming
  • Experience in government, research institute or frontier lab settings
  • Familiarity with AI risk management frameworks

Free to use and adapt. If it saves you time, a link back to this page is appreciated.

Skills that matter

  • Scientific domain expertiseAdvancedApply disciplinary theory and experimental standards
  • AI red teamingAdvancedTest systems adversarially under authorisation
  • AI risk managementWorkingIdentify, assess, treat and monitor AI risks
  • Model evaluationWorkingMeasure capability and failure modes credibly

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How we wrote this

Role definitions are our own editorial work, checked against occupational classifications, standards, research and employer pages. Titles vary by company, and this is a description of the work, not a job advert.

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