Head of People

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. At FAR.AI, we believe in thoughtful, inclusive, and scalable operations that empower our team and partners to do their best work.

Since our founding in July 2022, we've grown quickly to 40+ staff, producing 30+ influential academic papers, and established the 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. Most recently, we discovered major issues with Anthropic’s latest model the same day it was released, and worked with OpenAI to safeguard their latest model. Additionally, we help steer and grow the AI safety field through developing research roadmaps with renowned researchers such as Yoshua Bengio. We also operate FAR.Labs, an AI safety-focused co-working space in Berkeley, housing 40 members, as well as support the community through targeted grants to technical researchers.

We are hiring a Head of People to build the systems, team, and culture that will carry FAR.AI from 40 people to 75+ over the next 12 months, across multiple geographies and entities. You’ll have the unique opportunity to build our people operations function, crafting and executing the systems, processes, and culture that will support our continued growth. This means taking ownership of the entire employee lifecycle, from talent acquisition and onboarding to employee engagement, retention, and beyond.
You’ll report to the COO and work closely with our leadership team and other department leads, bringing structure to everything people-related and creating an environment where employees can do their best work. If you’re an impact-driven leader who has built and scaled People functions in fast-moving organizations and are looking for your next organization to make a mark on, this is the role for you.

FAR.AI is entering a pivotal phase of growth, backed by over $40M in funding and expanding opportunities to shape how advanced AI systems are developed and governed. Our work spans technical research, policy, and operations, including partnerships, such as red-teaming frontier models with leading AI companies and governments. As the scope and impact of our work accelerate, we are leveling up our operational capacity.

As FAR.AI's Head of People, you will lay the foundation that enables everything we do, from talent acquisition, people operations, culture, and employee engagement. FAR.AI runs the events, programs, HR, communications, and community spaces that connect the global AI safety ecosystem. If you join our operations team, you're not supporting a company; you're building the institutional backbone of a field that didn't exist five years ago. You'll work with policymakers, Turing Award winners, and frontier lab experts, and you'll help define how the organization scales through a critical growth phase.

For people leaders who enjoy building, proactive problem solving, and rolling up their sleeves to get things done, this is a rare opportunity to drive long-term societal impact.

If this sounds like you, then we would love to hear from you!

Key Responsibilities

Own and build the People function across the following areas:

• People operations and infrastructure. Own HRIS, payroll coordination, employee lifecycle (onboarding through offboarding), ATS, immigration, and the systems and policies that make day-to-day people operations smooth and consistent across geographies.

• Talent acquisition. Own the hiring end-to-end: pipeline strategy, sourcing, employer brand, candidate experience, interview design, and offer process. Partner with hiring managers to scope roles tightly and fill empty seats with top talent. Analyze recruitment data and market trends to inform future hiring strategies.

• Performance and management systems. Build and maintain the practices that make managers effective, including quarterly performance reviews, professional development, and a no-surprises approach to underperformance.

• Compensation and benefits. Own compensation philosophy, leveling, benchmarking, and benefits administration across the US and other geographies, including EOR.

• People compliance. Own employment compliance across jurisdictions, including federal and state requirements in the US and other countries where FAR.AI employs staff.

• Culture and employee experience. Steward the practices, rituals, and feedback processes that keep FAR.AI a place where talented people do their best work. Oversee initiatives to foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performance work environment. Help us stay connected by coordinating quarterly team events, including offsites, team-building activities, and social gatherings.

• A People partner to the organization. Resolve people ops inquiries and issues with empathy and efficiency. Be a trusted advisor to the CEO, President, and COO on org design, compensation, leveling, succession, and sensitive personnel decisions.

• Team leadership. Hire, develop, and manage the People team as it grows. Model the management standard you expect of others.

Must-Have Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive experience in HR or People, including at least 3 years leading a People team or a major sub-function.

• Proven results filling difficult seats with top talent in full-cycle recruiting, preferably with technical roles. Has employed innovative strategies for sourcing and building an employer brand.

• Demonstrated experience scaling a people function through significant headcount growth. The organization is doubling year-on-year.

• Hands-on experience owning or substantially building at least three of: HRIS implementation, performance management systems, compensation frameworks, hiring infrastructure, or international employment via EOR.

• Operator mindset and comfortable building out systems, processes, and teams. Biased toward simple solutions over heavy process. Comfortable with ambiguity and can independently drive the people function.

• Strong judgment on sensitive personnel matters, with a default toward direct, candid, and respectful communication.

• Natural relationship builder with strong interpersonal skills. The ability to build trust and collaborate effectively with candidates and internal stakeholders. Crafts thoughtful and effective messages that pitches FAR.AI’s mission and opportunities compellingly.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Experience in fast-paced environments. You've worked in startups, nimble nonprofits, or high-growth teams before and can adapt to change quickly.

• Technical acumen or familiarity with AI or related technical fields, allowing you to engage credibly with candidates and work effectively with technical staff and leadership.

• Direct experience employing staff internationally, including via EOR.

• Experience building or running a global compensation philosophy across countries.

• Experience building systems, processes, and culture in a hybrid or remote environment.

• Experience contributing to an impact-driven organization or passionate about AI safety.

Logistics

You will be a full-time employee of FAR.AI, a 501(c)(3) research non-profit.

• Location: Berkeley, CA (onsite/hybrid) or Remote, based in the US.

• Hours: Full-time (40 hours/week).

• Compensation: $150,000-$200,000/year depending on experience. We will also pay for work-related travel and equipment expenses, and offer catered lunch and dinner at our office in Berkeley.

• Hiring process: A phone screen, a hiring manager interview, a task test, in-depth interviews with the team, followed by reference checks.

If you have any questions about the role, feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Otherwise, if you don't have questions, the best way to ensure a proper review of your skills and qualifications is by applying directly via the application form. Please don't email us to share your resume (it won't have any impact on our decision). Thank you!