Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Overview

Join to apply for the Chief Operating Officer (COO) role at FAR.AI .

This range is provided by FAR.AI. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range

$175,000.00 / yr - $250,000.00 / yr

About FAR.AI

FAR.AI is a non-profit AI research institute dedicated to ensuring advanced AI is safe and beneficial for everyone. Our mission is to facilitate breakthrough AI safety research, advance global understanding of AI risks and solutions, and foster a coordinated global response. 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 institutes. We recently contributed to safety efforts with major players and support the AI safety field through roadmaps with renowned researchers. We operate FAR.Labs, an AI safety-focused co-working space in Berkeley, and support the community through targeted grants to technical researchers.

About the role

We''re seeking a Chief Operating Officer to lead our operations through a period of significant growth as we expect to almost double in size over the next eighteen months. You''ll oversee all operational functions, while directly managing three departments and leads : Finance, People, and Business Operations. This role requires someone who can translate strategic vision into operational excellence, build scalable systems, and develop high-potential team members. This is an opportunity to shape the operational backbone of one of the most impactful organizations in AI safety. You will work directly with our two co-founders, Adam (CEO) and Karl (currently COO, transitioning into the new role of President), and department leads to ensure our operations enable our mission-critical work.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead all operational functions across FAR.AI : Finance, People, Business Operations, Co-working space (FAR.Labs), Compliance, Legal, and Risk.
• Translate organizational strategy into operational execution, ensuring alignment with research and field-building priorities.
• Build and optimize systems that can rapidly scale from ~30 to 75+ team members while maintaining operational excellence.
• Support strategic growth efforts by identifying and tracking high-leverage opportunities — such as partnerships, funding pathways, or capacity building initiatives — in coordination with the President and CEO.

Team Development & Cross-Functional Coordination

Financial & Risk Management

About You

You are an experienced operations leader who thrives in mission-driven, high-growth environments. You combine strategic thinking with hands-on execution, and have a proven track record of scaling operations while developing teams. You''re someone who builds trust across functions, operates with low ego, and is energized by enabling others to do their best work.

Note : You don’t need to have worked in AI or research before. We’re excited to bring in operational expertise from adjacent sectors.

Must-Have Experience

Nice-to-Have Experience (ideally 3+ of these)

Logistics

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

If you have any questions about the role, please do get in touch at talent@far.ai.

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).

Compensation Range : $175K - $250K

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