Research Engineer Intern; Fall

Introduction

The Center for AI Safety (CAIS) is a leading research and field‑building organization on a mission to reduce societal‑scale risks from AI. Alongside our sister organization, the CAIS Action Fund, we tackle the toughest AI issues with a mix of technical, societal and policy solutions.

As a research engineer intern, you will work very closely with researchers on projects in AI security, machine ethics, AI alignment, and benchmarking AI risks. You will have a dedicated mentor and collaborate with a small team to plan and run experiments, conduct code reviews, and create a publication with outsized impact. You will also leverage our internal compute cluster to run experiments at scale on large language models.

• Plan and run ML experiments, including setup, launch, and debugging.
• Conduct code reviews and collaborate closely with a small research team.
• Analyze experiment results and contribute to papers and publications.
• Work with PyTorch and other relevant frameworks and libraries.
• Communicate findings clearly and promptly with teammates.

• Current student in machine learning or a related field; exceptional candidates with a strong publication record may be considered regardless of degree level.
• Co‑authored at least one paper published at a top ML conference venue (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, CVPR). Peer‑reviewed conference publications are strongly preferred over workshop papers.
• Track record of empirical research in AI or ML, especially in AI safety‑relevant areas such as adversarial robustness, calibration, or benchmarking.
• Experience setting up, launching, and debugging ML experiments.
• Familiarity with relevant frameworks and libraries, e.g., PyTorch.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Self‑directed and able to take ownership of individual project components.

Unpaid internship with a stipend to assist with academic pursuits and living expenses (subject to tax).

Applications are due by June 15, 2026. Applicants must be enrolled in university. This internship is unpaid; however, CAIS provides the stipend listed above.

The Center for AI Safety is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, medical condition, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. In alignment with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.

If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact contact.

We value diversity and encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply.