Biosecurity & Synthetic Biology Expert
$50–$90/hr
About this role
Provide advanced biosecurity and synthetic biology expertise to evaluate and build biosecurity evaluation frameworks and realistic threat scenarios. In this remote contractor role you will apply subject-matter knowledge to shape how AI systems learn and reason about biological misuse, biosafety, and public-health impact. No prior AI experience is required; domain expertise is the primary requirement.
Key Responsibilities- Develop a comprehensive taxonomy of biological misuse scenarios that incorporates current and emerging threats.
- Design safe, realistic evaluation scenarios to test biosafety measures and dual-use risk protocols.
- Establish severity ratings for biological risks to support nuanced threat modeling and mitigation strategies.
- Perform rigorous false-negative reviews of draft benchmarks to ensure protective and pragmatic outcomes.
- Advise on laboratory safety protocols, pathogen containment strategies, and dual-use governance best practices.
- Contribute written and verbal insights to documentation, scenario development, and cross-functional communication.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to contextualize biological misuse risks for public-health impact modeling.
- Required skills: Biosecurity, laboratory safety, biological misuse, public-health threat modeling.
- Minimum 5+ years of experience in biosecurity, biorisk management, synthetic biology, or a related field; 8 to 20 years preferred for senior contributors.
- Advanced degree, professional certification, or equivalent operational experience in biosecurity, synthetic biology, or public health.
- Hands-on experience in roles such as biorisk officer, synthetic biology researcher, public-health biodefense specialist, government biosecurity advisor, or laboratory director.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and review threat scenarios and risk taxonomies with high domain credibility.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a commitment to precise, actionable input.
- Experience working with multidisciplinary and cross-sector teams in research, policy, or safety-critical environments.
This engagement is a remote, independent contractor role. Work will support a critical customer project focused on biosecurity evaluation frameworks and training dataset development for AI systems. No prior AI experience is necessary.
CompensationPay range: $50.00 to $90.00 per hour.
EligibilityRole type: contractor. Location: remote. Candidates must be able to engage as independent contractors under the engagement terms; specific tax, contracting, and legal arrangements will follow standard contractor practices.