Hiring nowAI policy, institutions and public accountability

AI Governance Researcher

Also called AI Governance Scientist

An AI Governance Researcher studies how institutions and mechanisms can keep AI development accountable. They give the company evidence-based options for oversight that hold up under scrutiny and can be put into practice.

What they do

They study how rules, oversight bodies, audits, reporting duties and internal controls work in practice, and where they fail. They read consultation records, policy texts and prior institutional cases, then compare design options. They write research that sets out a mechanism, who would run it, what it would achieve and what it would not. They talk with engineers, legal teams and policy colleagues to check that proposals fit how AI systems are built and deployed. They also brief leadership and external partners in plain language, and revise their view when new evidence arrives.

What a strong hire delivers

In the first months, a strong hire produces a clear map of the governance questions the company faces and which ones matter most. They deliver one or two pieces of research that compare mechanisms and state their limitations honestly. They build working relationships with technical and legal colleagues. Leaders end up with options they can act on, and a better sense of what is realistic.

How you can tell they are good

Ask them to walk through a governance mechanism they have studied: what it was meant to do, how it actually behaved, and where it fell short. Strong people name limits without being pushed. They separate evidence from opinion. They can explain a technical issue to a policy audience, and a policy issue to engineers, without losing accuracy.

Why it is hard to fill

Few people combine institutional analysis with enough technical understanding to judge what is implementable. Titles vary widely, so search by title alone misses good candidates. Many come from public policy, political economy or public administration and have never worked inside a technology company. Others are technical but have not done serious institutional research. We look for evidence of both, and we do not treat either as a deal breaker.

Where to find them

Look in policy institutes, university research groups, government departments and regulators, and the policy or governance teams of model providers and AI safety organisations. Titles include policy researcher, governance analyst, technical governance researcher and public administration scholar. Disciplines include political economy, public policy, law, international relations and some technical fields. Candidates with consultation or standards-body experience are often especially useful.

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 Governance Researcher

  1. Describe a governance mechanism you studied. How did it work in practice compared with its design?

    A strong answer is specific about the institution, the incentives and the gap between intent and outcome. It uses evidence, not assertion. Worry if they only describe the design on paper or cannot name a single weakness.

  2. How do you judge whether a governance proposal is implementable by a company like ours?

    Good answers cover cost, who owns it, technical feasibility, enforcement and how it affects teams. They talk to engineers early. Worry if the answer stays abstract or assumes the organisation will simply comply.

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

Job description you can post

We are hiring an AI Governance Researcher to study how institutions and mechanisms can make AI development accountable. You will produce research that helps us and our partners choose governance approaches that are sound, honest about their limits and workable in practice.

What you will do

  • Research institutions, oversight mechanisms and accountability structures relevant to AI development
  • Compare governance design options and set out their strengths and limitations
  • Analyse consultation records, policy texts and comparable institutional cases
  • Work with engineering, legal and policy colleagues to test whether proposals can be implemented
  • Write clear research outputs and briefings for leadership and external audiences
  • Track developments in AI risk management and institutional coordination

What you will bring

  • Published or shared governance, policy or institutional research that shows rigorous analysis
  • Experience in public policy, political economy, public administration or technical governance
  • Ability to explain mechanisms and their limitations clearly in writing
  • Working understanding of how AI systems are built and deployed
  • Evidence of working with practitioners to turn research into decisions
  • Comfort with international and cross-institutional coordination questions

Nice to have

  • Experience with consultations or standards processes
  • Experience in a regulator, government body or policy institute
  • 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

  • Public policy and economicsAdvancedAnalyse institutional choices and distributional effects
  • Institutional and international coordinationAdvancedAlign actors and processes across jurisdictions
  • AI risk managementWorkingIdentify, assess, treat and monitor AI risks
  • Technical communicationWorkingExplain evidence and limitations to relevant readers

Other roles in aI policy, institutions and public accountability

Hiring nowAI Policy AnalystAn AI Policy Analyst turns uncertain governance questions into clear options a company can act on. They show leadership what a rule, commitment or…EmergingPublic-Sector AI Accountability OfficerRuns the process that lets the public see, question and challenge how an organisation uses AI in public services. Gives leaders a defensible record…EmergingInternational AI Coordination SpecialistAn International AI Coordination Specialist helps a company work with governments, labs, regulators and standards bodies across borders. They turn…Hiring nowAI Policy LeadAn AI Policy Lead represents the company to governments on regulation, compute and national security. They help the business shape rules it must…Hiring nowCompute Governance SpecialistA compute governance specialist tracks and enforces the rules on chips, compute and model weights. They keep a company compliant and help it plan…

Related roles in other families

Hiring nowResponsible AI LeadResponsible AI governance and riskA Responsible AI Lead sets who owns AI risk and makes sure the controls around it work. They matter because customers, regulators and boards now ask…Hiring nowAI Risk ManagerResponsible AI governance and riskAn AI Risk Manager identifies, assesses and tracks the risks in a company's AI systems against agreed tolerances. They give leaders a clear view of…Hiring nowAI Impact Assessment SpecialistResponsible AI governance and riskAn AI Impact Assessment Specialist works out how an AI system could affect people and communities, then makes sure the serious risks are dealt with…EmergingAI Inventory and Governance AnalystResponsible AI governance and riskAn AI Inventory and Governance Analyst keeps a current record of every AI system a company builds or buys, who owns it and what it must comply with…

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.

← AI policy, institutions and public accountabilityAll new job families

Start a search

Hiring an AI Governance Researcher?

Tell us the work. We find the people already doing it, whatever their job title says, and you meet them already interviewed for your role.