Operations in AI Safety: A One-Year Perspective and Advice — EA Forum
This post is based on what I tell people when they ask me about operations in AI Safety. It is a mix between “writing about my job”, writing about what operations people do, and what skills I think you should develop if you want to work in operations. I am glossing over what AI Safety entails, so if you want to find out more about the field, I have compiled some resources on my website. If you want to talk more about ops, send me a message, and we can probably have a chat. Operations in AI Safety means something different from in the corporate world, and your role and experience being in ops vary dramatically depending on the organisation’s culture, mission, and size. Operations is unglamorous and you will not get the applause, but you are absolutely essential for making the project run smoothly while juggling many different tasks and responsibilities (and never dropping one), and your team will love you for it. Some common roles are: Exact tasks vary wildly, but typical tasks include:
Operations in AI Safety: A One-Year Perspective and Advice — EA Forum Hide table of contents Operations in AI Safety: A One-Year Perspective and Advice by Mick Jul 24 2025 12 min read 0 32 AI safety Career choice Career Conversations Week (2025) Collections and resources Events on the EA Forum Job profile Operations Frontpage Operations in AI Safety: A One-Year Perspective and Advice TL;DR What Do You Mean By “Operations” Things I Learned What Skills Do You Need Essential Important You Do Not Need Building Those Skills How To Get A Role How I Got Into AI Safety Operations What Do I Do In My Jo
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