Research Operations and Administration Specialist

Join a pioneering initiative to build realistic enterprise environments for training and evaluating frontier AI agents. This role focuses on leveraging your expertise in research operations and administration to create high-fidelity digital workspaces that reflect the complexities of real-world research environments. You will design tasks that challenge state-of-the-art AI, contributing directly to the advancement of AI research.

• Construct a digital workspace that mirrors your daily operations, including grant proposals, budgets, compliance protocols, and communication threads, while integrating relevant platforms such as SharePoint, Box, and DocuSign.
• Develop multi-step tasks based on your actual workflows, requiring interaction with various applications, files, and stakeholders to effectively challenge AI agents.
• Collaborate with fellow research operations and administration experts to design the environment, define task scope, and ensure scenarios are realistic and rigorous.
• Engage asynchronously with research teams to refine task designs and evaluation criteria for research-administration agent benchmarks.
• Contribute to cutting-edge AI research and benchmarking, with your work directly influencing how leading labs train and evaluate next-generation AI systems.

• Minimum of 3 years of full-time experience at a top R1 university, academic medical center, federal research agency, or large research nonprofit.
• Experience in areas such as:
• Pre-award grants management (NIH, NSF, DOE, DoD, foundation grants)
• Post-award financial/compliance management (Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR 200, FFR/RPPR)
• Sponsored-programs administration or contract negotiation
• Research compliance (IRB, IACUC, IBC, COI, export control)
• Core-facility/shared-resource operations
• Relevant certifications such as CRA, CPRA, or CFRA are a plus.
• Proficient in using SharePoint, Box, DocuSign, Mendeley/EndNote, and ADP Workforce Now/UKG Pro.
• Strong analytical and writing skills, with the ability to translate research administration workflows into structured task specifications.

This is a remote, hourly position with flexible working hours.

The hourly rate ranges from $45 to $65, with a transition to a compensation model based on the throughput of quality work.

Applicants must have the right to work in their respective locations without requiring visa sponsorship.