Research Scientist, Human Behavioural Research - Chem/Bio

About the Chem/Bio Team

The mission of the Chem/Bio team is to equip policymakers with an empirical understanding of safety-relevant AI capabilities, specifically at the intersection of AI with biology and chemistry.

The team studies AI capabilities including (but not limited to) providing detailed instructions and (multimodal) troubleshooting for chemical or biological lab work, designing new or modified biological agents, and autonomously completing tasks on behalf of the user.

The team works closely with other teams within the AI Safety Institute and wider UK government stakeholders, and external experts, to make sure our research has real-world impacts on AI safety and chemical and biological security through policy recommendations.

Job Description

We are looking for a research scientist to join the human behavioural research team within the Chem/Bio workstream. Working with an interdisciplinary group of research scientists & engineers to design and deliver research studies which measure how AI tools assist both non-experts and experts in their scientific capabilities.

The research program combines online research studies, in-lab randomised controlled trials, and in-organisation projects. You will work closely with other team members and collaborators from government, academia, and industry, and receive coaching and mentorship from the human studies lead, as well as our workstream lead who is an established expert in biosecurity.

Your day-to-day work may involve:

1. Managing an online panel study, where participants complete various tasks on a web interface.
2. Collaborating with the team and partners to design a randomised controlled trial measuring improvement in a wet lab task using an AI model.
3. Working with other team members and partner institutions to design an intervention study looking at the impact of a specific tool on research success.
4. Creating and validating behavioural questionnaire measures of experience using AI models in a research study.
5. Summarizing experimental findings for a non-technical audience. Collaborating with strategy and delivery teams to share insights with government colleagues.
6. Writing statistical analysis of experimental results, including data cleaning and detection of cheating/low effort responses.
7. Setting up an online study to use an API to allow participants to interact with a hosted AI tool.
8. Attending talks and journal clubs to keep up to date with the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Person specification

You may be a good fit if you have some of the following skills, experience, and attitudes:

1. Relevant experience in industry, open-source collectives, or academia in a field related to behavioral science, behavioral data science, randomized controlled trials, or human-computer interaction.
2. Experience running behavioral randomized controlled trials online or in an organizational context.
3. Experience in writing code that is scalable, robust, and easy to maintain, ideally in Python.
4. Strong quantitative skills and a solid understanding of statistics in the context of research design and inference.
5. Hands-on experience illustrating and writing up empirical research findings, ideally producing a deliverable such as a blog post or paper.
6. Strong communication skills and the ability to engage both technical and non-technical audiences.
7. Experience working in cross-functional teams, including both scientists and engineers.
8. Motivated to conduct research that solves concrete open questions in governance and policy making.
9. Ability to work autonomously and in a self-directed way with high agency, thriving in a constantly changing environment and a steadily growing team, while figuring out the best and most efficient ways to solve a particular problem.
10. Have a sense of mission, urgency, and responsibility for success, demonstrating problem-solving abilities and preparedness to acquire any missing knowledge necessary to get the job done.

The following are also nice-to-have:

1. Experience in natural sciences, e.g. previous research placement in biology or chemistry or related undergraduate degree.
2. Experience in evaluating human usage of frontier AI models.
3. Web development skills, especially front-end.
4. Track record of high impact, peer-reviewed publications.

Additional Information

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

Nationality Requirements
UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. We run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria and offer a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants at risk of redundancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attracting, retaining, and investing in talent wherever it is found. We value diversity and strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone can contribute to our mission.