Technical Programme Manager, Chem-Bio

The AI Security Institute is the world's largest and best funded team dedicated to understanding advanced AI risks and translating that knowledge into action. We're in the heart of the UK government with direct lines to No. 10 (the Prime Minister's office), and we work with frontier developers and governments globally. We're here because governments are critical for advanced AI going well, and UK AISI is uniquely positioned to mobilise them. With our resources, unique agility and international influence, this is the best place to shape both AI development and government action.

About the role

AI capabilities in the life sciences are advancing faster than at any point in history. Foundation models can now design novel proteins and interpret genomic sequences. These are extraordinary tools for scientific progress, but also have the potential for harm if misused. The AI Security Institute's Chem Bio team exists to evaluate the capability of both frontier and narrow AI models in chemistry and biology, ensuring the UK government and its partners have an accurate view of risks and capabilities. This team is one of AISI's most consequential paths to impact, at a critical moment. Over the next twelve months it will need to move faster, deliver more complex research programmes, and engage more deeply with partners in major AI labs and security services than it has before. This role is for the person who makes that possible.

You will sit directly alongside the CB team's researchers: helping them structure ambiguous research questions into tractable programmes, ensuring that our research lines up with the rigorous empirical claims the team must be able to evidence to inform policy, recommending which novel technical work to start and stop, or sequence technical dependencies across workstreams. It is a research programme architecture role, working at the interface between "what should we investigate?" and "how do we actually do so?"

What you will own

• Research programme architecture. You will work directly with researchers to scope projects: refining what questions we're actually trying to answer, what the milestones and success criteria are for novel technical work, and how to sequence technical dependencies, resource and time across workstreams. You will be the person who turns "we should probably look into X" into a tractable research plan with clear deliverables, without imposing process that gets in researchers' way.
• Research delivery tracking and unblocking. You will bring a continuous improvement mindset to the team's existing lightweight research management structures - sprint cadence, dependency maps, progress tracking - that create visibility and grip without overhead. You will surface technical blockers before they become crises and intervene directly to resolve them, and know exactly when and to whom to escalate. The goal is researchers spending their time on research, not logistics.
• Cross government technical engagement. You will manage the technical interface with government partners (Dstl, UKHSA, MOD, and others) where that engagement is about research- data sharing arrangements, conducting joint technical work, scoping requirements for access for classified compute. This role is about ensuring the work we deliver is technically sound, not about communicating its results, which sits with our exploitation colleagues. You will work closely with the CB team's delivery and exploitation colleagues to make sure the work they do is technically grounded.
• Team operations and pace. You will maintain the operational rhythm that lets a small, high performing research team move at frontier speed inside government. You will ensure the team has what it needs to deliver, and that nothing falls through the cracks.

Role Requirements

• A track record as a technical programme manager working directly with researchers or engineers. You have managed complex technical programmes - ideally at an AI lab, a biotech startup, in defence/intelligence R&D, or in a similarly high ambiguity research environment. You know how to scope and structure novel research work (where the answer isn't known in advance), not just deliver against a pre defined plan.
• You have earned the trust of technical teams by understanding their work deeply enough to provide critical challenge, and engage beyond process.
• Comfort operating at the frontier of AI. You do not need to be a machine learning researcher, but you need to be fluent enough in frontier AI to operate in constant conversation with researchers about our work, strategy and research taste; and understand what's hard, what's speculative, what's blocked, and what "good" looks like for a given experiment or evaluation.
• High agency and ownership. You take responsibility for outcomes, not activities. When something is stuck, you pick up the phone. You do not wait for someone else to escape.
• Credibility with technical teams. Researchers trust you because you understand their constraints, respect their expertise, and demonstrably make their lives easier. You influence through competence and service, not authority or process.
• Strong prioritisation under pressure. You can identify what actually matters this week and focus the team's energy there while keeping longer horizon work alive. You have the judgement to recognise work that isn't landing and the confidence to elevate it or recommend that it stop.
• Discretion and judgement in a sensitive domain. You understand that work at the intersection of AI and biology carries dual use sensitivity. You are comfortable working within classified constraints and can make sound trade offs between openness, security and pace.

Strong candidates may also have:

• Experience in biosecurity, life sciences, public health or adjacent domains where similar dual use judgement is required.
• Prior experience at a frontier AI lab.
• Existing SC or DV clearance.
• Experience working in or with Dstl, MOD, DHSC, UKHSA or equivalent national security/adjacent bodies in other settings.
• Hands on comfort with modern productivity tools (coding agents, Linear) and willingness to use AI tools as part of daily work.

Selection process

• Application - CV and a short cover note (max 500 words) explaining what draws you to this role and what you would bring.
• Screening interview - Lightweight conversation on trajectory, motivation and fit.
• Work test - A take home exercise designed to test programme management judgement in context. You will receive this after the screening interview.
• Technical interview - Discussion of your work test with a current AISI TPM.
• Behavioural interview - Deeper dive on stakeholder management, prioritisation and team dynamics.
• Senior leadership interview (30 min) - Final conversation with AISI senior leadership.

Security Clearance

Appointment is conditional on successfully completing UK Government SC clearance. Prior clearance is not required - we will sponsor and support you. You should normally have been resident in the UK for the past 5 years. You may also be required to undergo Developed Vetting (DV). DV typically requires a longer period of UK residency (around 10 years). Employment is conditional on obtaining and maintaining the required clearance(s). More detail on clearance eligibility can be found on the UK Government website: National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK.

What We Offer

• Impact you couldn't have anywhere else.
• Incredibly talented, mission driven and supportive colleagues.
• Direct influence on how frontier AI is governed and deployed globally.
• Work with the Prime Minister's AI Advisor and leading AI companies.
• Opportunity to shape the first & best resourced public interest research team focused on AI security.

Resources & access

• Pre-release access to multiple frontier models and ample compute.
• Extensive operational support so you can focus on research and ship quickly.
• Work with experts across national security, policy, AI research and adjacent sciences.
• If you're talented and driven, you'll own important problems early.

Life & family

• Modern central London office (cafes, food court, gym), or where applicable, option to work in similar government offices in Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, Salford or Bristol.
• Hybrid working, flexibility for occasional remote work abroad and stipends for work from home equipment.
• At least 25 days' annual leave, 8 public holidays, extra team wide breaks and 3 days off for volunteering.
• Generous paid parental leave (36 weeks of UK statutory leave shared between parents + 3 extra paid weeks + option for additional unpaid time).
• On top of your salary, we contribute 28.97% of your base salary to your pension.
• Discounts and benefits for cycling to work, donations and retail/gyms.

These benefits apply to direct employees. Benefits may differ for individuals joining through other employment arrangements such as secondments. Annual salary is benchmarked to role scope and relevant experience. Most offers land between £65,000 and £145.