About the job Remote | PhD Biology AI Safety Consultant — $55–$65/hour
We are sharing a specialised part-time consulting opportunity for PhD-level biology and life sciences professionals with strong scientific reasoning, technical writing, and sound judgment around biosafety, biosecurity, and dual-use information.
This role supports an AI safety initiative focused on improving how advanced models understand and respond to specialised life-science topics. Selected professionals will create expert-level prompts, evaluate model-generated responses for scientific accuracy and responsible handling of sensitive content, and apply structured guidelines across technical biology evaluations. Prior AI or machine-learning experience is not required, as project-specific training will be provided.
Key Responsibilities
Life Sciences Prompt Development
- Write expert-level prompts covering advanced biology and life-science topics
- Develop technically rigorous scenarios grounded in current scientific knowledge and research practice
- Create prompts that assess scientific reasoning, factual accuracy, and responsible handling of sensitive information
- Ensure tasks reflect realistic laboratory, computational, and research contexts
Scientific Response Evaluation
- Review model-generated responses for scientific accuracy, completeness, and usefulness
- Identify factual errors, unsupported claims, methodological weaknesses, and misleading explanations
- Assess whether outputs demonstrate appropriate reasoning across complex life-science questions
- Provide clear written feedback supported by relevant scientific principles
Biosecurity & Sensitive Content Review
- Evaluate how models respond to biosafety, biosecurity, pathogen-related, and dual-use topics
- Identify responses that require greater caution, contextualisation, or risk awareness
- Apply sound professional judgment to technically sensitive biological information
- Distinguish legitimate scientific discussion from content requiring additional safeguards
Annotation & Guideline Application
- Apply structured guidelines to classify prompts, responses, and conversations
- Annotate model outputs consistently across scientific and safety-related criteria
- Participate in calibration activities to maintain reliable evaluation standards
- Incorporate reviewer feedback and evolving project guidance into future assessments
Ideal Profile
Strong candidates may have:
- A completed or ongoing PhD in biology or a closely related life-science discipline
- Deep expertise in molecular biology, microbiology, virology, genetics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, immunology, or a related field
- Strong familiarity with modern laboratory or computational techniques relevant to their specialisation
- Excellent scientific reasoning and professional writing skills in English
- Sound judgment around biosafety, biosecurity, and responsible treatment of dual-use information
- Ability to evaluate complex technical material with accuracy and attention to detail
- Availability to contribute approximately 15–25 hours per week, with flexibility for up to 40 hours depending on project needs
Educational Background
- An ongoing or completed PhD in biology, molecular biology, microbiology, virology, genetics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, immunology, or a closely related life-science field is required
- Doctoral research involving laboratory, computational, or interdisciplinary biological methods is highly relevant
- Academic publications, research presentations, or advanced scientific writing experience may strengthen an application
- Postdoctoral, university, research-institute, or industry laboratory experience may also be valuable
Nice to Have
- Research or coursework involving biosafety, biosecurity, pathogen biology, or dual-use research
- Familiarity with gain-of-function considerations and responsible scientific communication
- Experience reviewing, grading, editing, or assessing technical scientific content
- Background in scientific peer review, teaching, mentoring, or curriculum development
- Previous exposure to AI evaluation, red teaming, structured annotation, or model benchmarking
- Experience translating complex scientific concepts into clear written explanations
- Familiarity with interdisciplinary work spanning biology, computation, and research ethics
Why This Opportunity
- Apply advanced biological expertise to an important AI safety initiative
- Help improve the scientific reliability and responsible behaviour of advanced AI models
- Work across specialised life-science topics aligned with your research background
- Receive training on structured AI evaluation workflows
- Participate in flexible remote work with competitive hourly compensation
Contract Details
- Independent contractor role
- Fully remote with flexible scheduling
- Immediate project start
- Expected commitment of approximately 15–25 hours per week
- Potential flexibility for up to 40 hours per week depending on project demand
- Competitive rates between $60–$65 per hour depending on expertise and project scope
- Prior AI or machine-learning experience is not required
- Weekly payments via Stripe or Wise
- Projects may be extended, shortened, or adjusted depending on scope and performance
- Work will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer, client, or institution
About the Platform
This opportunity is available through 24-MAG LLC. We connect experienced professionals with remote consulting opportunities across technical, evaluation, and project-based workstreams.
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