EmergingResponsible AI governance and risk

Frontier Risk and Preparedness Lead

Also called Superintelligence Preparedness Lead · Frontier Risk Lead · Catastrophic Risk Officer

The Frontier Risk and Preparedness Lead owns the company's plans, thresholds and responses for highly capable AI systems. They make sure serious risks are named, tested against clear triggers and acted on before a release decision is made.

What they do

The lead writes and maintains the company's framework for frontier risk. That means defining which capabilities worry the company, setting thresholds that trigger extra safeguards, and agreeing who decides what when a threshold is crossed. They work with evaluation, safety research, security and policy teams to turn test results into a clear view of risk. They run exercises on incident response, brief executives and the board in plain language, and keep records that an outside reviewer could follow. They also track changes in model capability and update the plans to match.

What a strong hire delivers

In the first months, a strong hire gives the company a written risk framework with named owners and clear thresholds. They set up a regular review that links evaluation results to release decisions. They run at least one realistic exercise and fix the gaps it shows. Leadership gains a shared, plain-English view of the main risks, and teams know who to go to when something looks wrong.

How you can tell they are good

Ask them to walk through a framework or threshold they wrote and show where it changed a real decision. Good candidates explain trade-offs, not just principles. They can say what evidence would make them stop a release, and who they would tell. Listen for plain language, comfort with technical teams, and honesty about what they could not measure.

Why it is hard to fill

Few people have done this work under this title. Most of it sits inside safety, policy, security or risk jobs, so CVs rarely say it. The role needs a rare mix: technical fluency, governance discipline and the standing to challenge senior colleagues. Employers who have built it are mainly labs and large technology firms, and they rarely let these people go. Expect a thin, quiet market.

Where to find them

Look first at frontier labs and big technology companies, in preparedness, safety, responsible AI and policy teams. Strong candidates also come from enterprise risk, compliance, internal audit and technology governance, especially where they have handled novel, high-consequence risks. Safety researchers who have moved into policy or operations are worth a conversation. Titles vary widely, so judge the work done, not the label.

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 a Frontier Risk and Preparedness Lead

Tell us about a risk threshold or trigger you defined. How did you choose it, and what happened when it was tested?
A strong answer names a specific threshold, the evidence behind it and who agreed it. They describe a real test or challenge and what changed afterwards. Worry if answers stay abstract, or if nothing was ever revised.
How would you decide whether an evaluation result is strong enough to delay a release?
Good answers weigh the quality of the evidence, uncertainty and the cost of being wrong. They say who decides and how disagreement is handled. Worry about answers that treat every test as conclusive or ignore commercial pressure.

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

Job description you can post

We are building and releasing highly capable AI systems, and we want a lead to own how we identify, measure and respond to serious risk. You will set the plans and thresholds that guide our decisions and work closely with research, security, policy and leadership.

What you will do

Write and maintain our frontier risk framework, including thresholds and required responses
Turn evaluation results into clear risk assessments for release decisions
Define who is accountable for each risk and each decision
Run incident and preparedness exercises and act on what they show
Brief executives and the board in plain language
Keep clear records that an outside reviewer could follow
Track changes in model capability and update plans to match

What you will bring

Demonstrated work owning risk frameworks, thresholds or controls for high-consequence risks
Ability to read evaluation results and question them with technical teams
Experience making or shaping go or no-go decisions under pressure
Clear writing and speaking for non-technical senior audiences
Track record of working across research, security, legal and policy teams
Sound judgement about uncertainty and evidence

Nice to have

Background in safety research, audit or technology governance
Experience with external reviews or regulator engagement
Experience running response exercises

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

Skills that matter

AI risk managementWorkingIdentify, assess, treat and monitor AI risks
AI governance and assuranceWorkingAssign accountability and verify lifecycle controls
Fairness and impact assessmentWorkingAssess unequal errors, access and downstream impacts
Technical communicationWorkingExplain evidence and limitations to relevant readers

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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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