Business Operations Associate

Berkeley Office

About FAR.AI

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 rigorous work that empowers 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.

The Role

We are hiring a Business Operations Associate to support our Business Operations Manager and work closely with our COO and leaders across the organization. This is a hands-on generalist role with a broad remit: you will own the compliance tracker, provide finance and accounting support, assist with HR operations, assist with travel and events, support FAR.Labs, help with IT coordination, and take on special projects as they arise.

You will report to our Business Operations Manager and collaborate closely with our COO. No two weeks will look the same, and that is by design.

Why This Role / Why Now

FAR.AI is scaling fast. We are 45 people today and expect to grow to 75+ by the end of the year. Our operations team is growing alongside the organization, and the scope of what we need to run well is expanding: finance and accounting, HR and compliance, IT, FAR.Labs, and a steady stream of special projects that do not fit neatly anywhere else.

This role owns the recurring work that keeps FAR.AI moving. Partnering with our Business Operations Manager, you’ll be the dependable center of our operations, making sure nothing slips and who teams trust to just handle it. You’ll own work that’s varied, hands-on, and close to every part of the organization. If you do excellent work and the fit is strong, there is real room to grow with us. The operations function is being built, not maintained, and this is an opportunity to be part of that.

If you are sharp, low-ego, and energized by getting things done across a wide range of operational domains, we would love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

• Operations delivery: Own operational tickets, triaging incoming requests, and providing first-responder support across the team. Maintain policies, drive continuous improvement, and clear any roadblocks that might slow us down.

• Finance & compliance: Own and maintain FAR.AI’s compliance calendar, tracking federal, state, and local filing deadlines and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Support the systematization and automation of compliance obligations across the organization and support financial operations as needed.

• IT coordination: Provide initial IT support and coordinate with vendors to keep the team's tools and systems running. Coordinate equipment provisioning and sourcing.

• HR operations: Support onboarding and offboarding processes, HR compliance, employment policies, and the maintenance of the company handbook.

• Coworking space operations: Support operations of FAR.Labs, including event logistics.

• Special projects: Take on ad hoc operations projects as they arise, ranging from vendor coordination, goal tracking, internal policies, and process improvement.

Must-Have Qualifications

• Evidence of real results in past roles – things you have delivered or problems you have solved while juggling several responsibilities at once. Experience/seniority matters less than what you have done.

• Comfort working across multiple operational domains simultaneously: finance, HR, compliance, IT, and projects. You do not need to be an expert, but you’ll be required to learn quickly.

• Strong written and verbal communication. You can write a clear email, summarize a situation accurately, and ask good questions.

• Reliable with details, especially on compliance and finance tasks, where a missed deadline or a wrong number is a real issue. You flag issues proactively.

• Demonstrated service mindset. You get energy from helping others succeed – no job is too big or too small.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

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

• Demonstrated experience as a high-agency problem-solver. You’ve identified a need or a better way to do something and brought the solution to life.

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

• Experience with tools like Coda, Notion, Asana, CRMs, or similar operational software.

• Fluency with AI tools and workflows, while applying your own judgment on when to use and when not to use.

• Prior experience in operations.

Logistics

• Structure: We are open to full-time employment with FAR.AI, a 501(c)(3) research non-profit.

• Location: Berkeley, CA (onsite/hybrid).

• Hours: Full-time (40 hours/week).

• Compensation: $80,000-$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.

• Reporting: Reports to the Business Operations Manager

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

We recognize that no single candidate may embody all of the qualities above. If you believe you have the drive and the foundational skills to succeed in this position – even if your background looks a little different – please apply. We value potential and adaptability above a rigid checklist.

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 thorough review of your skills and qualifications is to apply directly through the application form. Please don't email us to share your resume (it won't have any impact on our decision). Thank you!