People Operations Generalist

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 25+ 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 such as NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR, and features in the Financial Times, Nature News, 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're seeking a People Operations Generalist to support and scale our people operations function through a period of significant growth as we expect to approximately double in size over the next eighteen months.

You’ll support a range of responsibilities, including recruiting coordination, onboarding, HR compliance, and culture initiatives. This is an ideal role for a mid-level HR or people operations professional who enjoys building relationships, refining processes, and creating a supportive employee experience in a growing, research-focused nonprofit.

• Coordinate job postings, interview scheduling, and candidate communications across open roles.

• Maintain applicant tracking system and support candidate experience initiatives.

• Partner with hiring managers to ensure timely, inclusive, and organized recruitment workflows.

• Support onsite interviews, (local) hiring events, and in office coordination related to our hiring efforts.

• Manage pre-onboarding logistics: offer letters, background checks, and documentation.

• Lead onboarding setup (checklists, tech coordination, welcome materials) and facilitate orientation sessions.

• Support offboarding processes, including exit interviews and knowledge transfers.

• Maintain accurate and confidential employee records (contracts, eligibility documents, leave tracking).

• Ensure compliance with labor laws and internal policies across multiple jurisdictions (US and international).

• Support policy documentation, employee handbooks, and process audits as needed.

• Coordinate staff events, retreats, and team-building activities.

• Support employee engagement initiatives to foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performance work environment.

• Assist in talent development and retention efforts .

You are a proactive and detail-oriented HR/People Operations professional who thrives on supporting people and building smooth, thoughtful systems and processes. You have experience coordinating HR/People Operations efforts and enjoy balancing structure with empathy. Whether you’re scheduling interviews, onboarding a new hire, or planning a team retreat, you bring clarity, follow-through, and a people-first mindset to everything you do.

You are excited to work in a mission-driven environment and are comfortable navigating the complexities of a distributed, growing organization. You are able to build trust across functions, operate with low ego, and are energized by making the employee experience feel seamless and supported.

• 3–5 years of experience in HR or people operations.

• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail and follow-through.

• Comfortable handling confidential information with discretion.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Proficiency with common HR, recruiting, and/or project management tools (e.g., Gusto, G Suite, Ashby, Asana, Coda, or similar).

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.

• A self-starter who is comfortable with ambiguity and can independently operate without too much hand-holding.

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust and collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.

• Experience in a distributed or remote-first work environment.

• Experience in fast-paced environments (previous experience in startups, nimble nonprofits, or high-growth teams) and ability to adapt to change quickly.

• Passion for thoughtful organizational systems, equity, and supporting mission-driven teams.

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

• Location: Berkeley, CA (Hybrid is an option).

• Hours: Full-time (40 hours/week).

• Compensation: $85,000-$110,000/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 task test, a phone screen with the hiring manager, in-depth interviews with the team, and a full-day work trial, followed by reference checks.

If you have any questions about the role, please do get in touch at [email protected].

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!