Specialist, AI Technology and Innovation – AI Governance Alliance

Please Note: This role requires the ability to work on site 3 days per week per company policy.

The annual salary range for this role is $80,000-85,000 in San Francisco.

This role is not eligible for US work authorization support.

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) helps stakeholders harness the potential of technological advancements for the equitable and human-centered transformation of industries, economies, and societies. We provide a strategic and future-oriented platform designed to understand exponential technologies and guide their responsible adoption and global application. Our thematic priorities include understanding innovation, catalyzing industry transformation, improving governance, and building a positive future. 

Why we are recruiting
As artificial intelligence continues to redefine the global economy, influencing governments, businesses, and individuals, the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution seeks to advance cutting-edge innovation while ensuring responsible governance. To support with these objectives, we are seeking an AI Technology and Innovation Specialist in our San Francisco office to help advance initiatives that focus on AI technology as part of the AI Governance Alliance.

This role requires knowledge of recent developments in AI, particularly in emerging domains such as AI agents and large language models. The role entails an ability to translate technical developments into actionable strategies for long-term societal benefit. The Specialist will help coordinate high-impact discussions, produce impactful deliverables, and ensure that outputs contribute meaningfully to global conversations on advanced AI systems.

Reporting lines and interactions

The Specialist will collaborate closely with all technology practice Leads across the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to help drive aspects of initiative delivery, community building, and engaging constituents in the development of new globally oriented technology frameworks. These new frameworks will be piloted to test theories about impact, iterate based on lessons learned, and then scale the adoption of frameworks. This role will place you on the front line of engaging with global leaders driving the trajectory of AI ecosystems. 

The Specialist will also collaborate with other World Economic Forum Centres working on advanced manufacturing, energy, sustainability, and health, among others.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide insights on emerging trends in AI technologies.
• Assess technical advancements of AI in sectors such as healthcare, energy, sustainability, advanced manufacturing.
• Analyze technical and safety-related challenges and synthesize findings into deliverables.
• Collaborate with the Forum’s start-up community to further build out innovation programs
• Support thought leadership by assisting in producing reports and other outputs that highlight key technological developments of advanced AI systems, such as AI agents.
• Coordinate community management, fostering meaningful engagement and promoting diversity of perspectives in discussions and initiatives.
• Collaborate across working groups and teams to align objectives and enhance synergies between initiatives.
• Coordinate meetings, managing logistical, content-related, and communication aspects.
• Prepare and organize key materials, including pre-reads, meeting summaries, and technical recommendations.
• Develop and maintain initiative plans and timelines, tracking progress and ensuring key milestones are met.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as computer science, data science or a related discipline required. A master’s degree in artificial intelligence or a similar field is preferred with exposure to AI, emerging technologies, or digital infrastructure a plus.
• Two years’ experience in work related to AI ecosystems.
• Proven ability to analyze complex technical challenges and translate findings into actionable plans, and deliverables.
• Strong research, writing, and presentation skills.
• Experience in community management and engaging with stakeholders across industries, cultures, and seniority levels.
• Demonstrated experience in project management, including developing timelines, tracking milestones, and coordinating cross-functional teams.
• Understanding of AI technologies, governance frameworks, and key stakeholders in the public and private sectors.
• Experience thriving in multicultural, highly collaborative work environments.
• Results driven, proactive, self-starter, and team player.
• Excellent organizational skills: able to juggle multiple tasks and assignments simultaneously and derive energy from high-pressure work settings.
• Excellent command of spoken and written English. Proficiency in other languages is a plus.

Why work at the Forum:

The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to improve the state of the world by building awareness and cooperation, shaping mindsets and agendas, and driving collective action. Join us and become a driver for positive change!