Institute for Security and Technology Senior Advisor, Contingency Planning (Contract) Remote · Contractor

Apply for Senior Advisor, Contingency Planning (Contract)

The Institute for Security and Technology designs and advances solutions to the world’s toughest emerging security threats. We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit network based in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to solving critical international security challenges through better technology and policy.

We are a close-knit team with an excellent remote workflow and take pride in providing our employees with reliable mentorship. We work with all staff to advance their professional development by providing access to our network in each team member’s field of interest, and support opportunities for professional exposure. We look forward to your application.

Senior Advisor, Contingency Planning (Contract)

The Institute for Security and Technology (IST) is seeking a Senior Advisor, Contingency Planning for AI-Induced Incidents to provide technical and strategic advice for IST’s work on AI loss of control (LOC) contingency planning, advanced safeguards, and preparedness for high-consequence AI incidents.

As increasingly capable AI systems gain greater autonomy and access to tools, infrastructure, and other real-world resources, existing safety and security mechanisms may be insufficient to prevent or contain emerging incidents. IST is developing a focused body of work to better understand the conditions that could precede loss of control, identify opportunities for intervention, and strengthen the technical and institutional mechanisms available to respond.

Senior Advisor will help translate emerging technical risks into practical contingency-planning approaches, with a focus on strengthening institutional readiness, coordination, and decision-making under uncertain and rapidly evolving conditions.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and support contingency-planning approaches for potential high-impact incidents involving advanced AI systems.
• Translate emerging technical risks into practical preparedness, response, and escalation considerations.
• Assess potential gaps in existing response mechanisms, institutional responsibilities, and coordination structures.
• Support the development of response frameworks, decision processes, and escalation approaches for complex AI-related incidents.
• Design and facilitate tabletop exercises, scenario-based discussions, and other preparedness activities.
• Capture and synthesize lessons from exercises and stakeholder engagements to strengthen future planning.
• Engage with government, industry, technical experts, and other relevant stakeholders on AI incident preparedness.
• Contribute to research, recommendations, briefings, and other materials related to contingency planning and AI risk reduction.

Qualifications

Requirements

• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in International Relations/International Affairs/International Security, Public Policy, Emergency Management, or a related field. A technical background (e.g., Computer Science) is a plus but not required.
• At least 10 years of experience in contingency planning, crisis management, emergency management, national security planning, cybersecurity incident response, resilience, or a related field.
• Familiarity with artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, AI safety, or AI security.
• Demonstrated experience developing plans or response frameworks for complex or high-consequence scenarios.
• Experience with escalation processes, crisis decision-making, or operational response planning.
• Ability to translate technical risks into practical operational considerations.
• Strong analytical, writing, facilitation, and communication skills.
• Experience working with stakeholders across government, industry, or other complex organizations.

Preferred 

• Experience in national security, cyber incident response, critical infrastructure resilience, emergency preparedness, or continuity planning (COOP and COG)
• Experience with public-private or interagency coordination.

Compensation

This is an independent contractor engagement, estimated at 20 hours a week for a 10-month term (target: October 10, 2026  – August 10, 2027), to be confirmed based on actual start date).

We anticipate a contract value of up to USD $80,000 for the term, based on an estimated 20 hours per week; the final contract rate will be negotiated directly with the contractor

As an independent contractor, this role is not eligible for IST's employee benefits package (health/dental/vision insurance, 401(k) matching, parental leave, or PTO). 

Payment is made against invoices submitted by the contractor, per the independent contractor agreement, rather than as a regular salary or wage.

This is a 1099 independent contractor engagement, to be governed by a separate Independent Contractor Agreement. The contractor is expected to use their own computer and equipment for this engagement, to maintain their own business location separate from IST (a home office qualifies), and, where required by their jurisdiction, to hold any applicable business license or tax registration. The contractor is free to provide similar services to other clients during the term of this engagement.

Location

This is a fully remote contractor engagement — there is no in-office requirement and no geographic location restriction. Given the need for real-time collaboration with the AI Center team, the contractor is expected to generally be reachable during standard Eastern Time business hours, while retaining discretion over their own daily schedule.

How to apply

Kindly utilize this link to submit your application and feel free to reach out to [email protected] if you have any inquiries.

We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and particularly encourage candidates from communities that are historically underrepresented in foreign affairs and national security. Read IST’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging statement.

For more information, visit www.securityandtechnology.org. If you're ready to embark on an exhilarating journey at the forefront of AI security policy, then seize this opportunity to join us at IST. Apply now and become a driving force in shaping the future of AI security and national security policy!