AI Safety Lead

Company Summary 

Lila Sciences is a privately held, early-stage technology company pioneering the application of artificial intelligence to transform every aspect of the scientific method. Lila Sciences is backed by Flagship Pioneering, which brings the courage, long-term vision, and resources needed to realize unreasonable results. Join our mission-driven team and contribute to the future of science. 

Our Life Sciences effort is leveraging AI and high-throughput automation for valuable therapeutic discovery and development across biological modalities. 

At Lila Sciences, we are uniquely cross-functional and collaborative. We are actively reimagining the way teams work together and communicate. Therefore, we seek individuals with an inclusive mindset and a diversity of thought. Our teams thrive in unstructured and creative environments. All voices are heard because we know that experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. 

If this sounds like an environment you’d love to work in, even if you only have some of the experience listed below, please apply.  

Role Overview:
As AI Safety Lead, you will define and execute Lila Sciences’ AI safety strategy, ensuring that our AI systems—used in scientific research and driving physical experimentation—are developed and deployed responsibly. You will establish risk assessment frameworks, oversee model benchmarking and evaluation, and integrate safety principles into AI governance. 

This role requires a deep technical understanding of AI risk, model evaluation, and system safety, as well as the leadership and communication skills to interface with internal teams, executive leadership, and the broader AI safety community. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Develop AI Safety Strategy: Establish AI safety frameworks tailored to the risks of scientific AI systems, including capability, autonomy, and distribution risks. 
• Risk & Compliance Leadership: Implement robust safety controls, approval mechanisms, and governance structures for AI deployment in scientific research environments. 
• Technical Safety Evaluation: Design and execute benchmarking and evaluation methodologies to assess the robustness, alignment, and failure modes of AI models in science. 
• Cross-Functional Integration: Work closely with AI researchers, engineers, and domain experts in biology and materials science to embed safety principles into model development and deployment. 
• External Engagement: Represent Lila Sciences in the AI safety community, collaborating with academic and industry leaders to stay ahead of emerging risks and best practices. 
• Regulatory & Ethical Guidance: Provide expertise on AI/ML safety regulations, ethical considerations, and responsible AI development in scientific applications. 

Qualifications: 

• Proven expertise in AI safety, robustness, and risk management for autonomous systems. 
• Strong technical background in AI/ML, including experience with model interpretability, alignment, and adversarial robustness. 
• Familiarity with AI governance, regulatory frameworks, and ethical considerations related to high-stakes AI applications, preferred to have led safety discussions with government 
• 4+ years of experience in AI safety, trustworthiness, or related fields (biology or materials science experience is a plus). 
• Proficiency in modern ML frameworks and AI evaluation methodologies. 
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to influence internal decision-making and engage with external stakeholders in the AI safety ecosystem. 

Working at Lila Sciences, you would have access to advanced technology in the areas of: 

• AI experimental design and simulation 
• Automated liquid handling and instrumentation 
• Generative molecular design 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with cloud computing services (e.g., AWS) to optimize training and evaluation processes.
• Familiarity with integrating machine learning into experimental workflows in materials science or chemistry.
• Knowledge of high-throughput experimental platforms for accelerated discovery.

About Flagship:

Flagship Pioneering is a platform innovation company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.  Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been twice named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more about Flagship at www.flagshippioneering.com.

Flagship Pioneering and our ecosystem companies are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.