Program Manager, Community

About Constellation

Constellation is an independent research center that brings together people throughout the AI safety ecosystem to accelerate insight, research, and talent through better cooperation. Unlike a conference or summit, Constellation operates continuously, in the form of a physical workspace as well as conference-style talks, workshops, and training bootcamps. Continuous operation allows for relationships and conversations to develop over time, meaningfully fostering trust, collaboration, and shared insight. It also makes Constellation a natural field-building hub by rapidly inspiring, orienting, and connecting people who are newer to the field.

Based in Berkeley, CA, our shared workspace hosts over 100 people per week across dozens of AI safety organizations in nonprofits, academia, industry, and government. Hundreds of other researchers spend time at Constellation for shorter visits each year. We believe this is the strongest and highest-output network of AI safety researchers in the world; dozens of participants in past Constellation programs have gone on to safety-focused roles at companies such as METR, Redwood Research, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and the US and UK Safety Institutes.

For more information, see our research focus areas and selected publications from Constellation fellows.

About the Programs team

Constellation’s Programs team designs and executes on programs that further Constellation’s mission. Our programs and roles fall into three areas:

• Hosting Programs offer different ways for people and organizations to spend time at the workspace and engage with the Constellation network. Each hosting program is tailored to a variety of participant profiles, and include aspects of recruitment, selection, programming, and individual facilitation to make visits maximally worthwhile. An example of a hosting program is the Visiting Fellows program, embedding over 100 researchers from around the world into the Constellation network for 3+ months in 2024.
  
• Community Programs increase the amount or quality of network engagement by improving the mediums of interaction. Examples include network culture, design of the physical workspace, workspace meals, and the Constellation Slack. ‍
• Applied Programs actively leverage the Constellation network to achieve specific mission-strategic goals. Applied programs often take the forms of events (talks, workshops, training bootcamps, and so on) but may include other avenues of catalyzing cooperation toward specific goals. An example is the Machine Learning for Alignment Bootcamp (MLAB), a one-month bootcamp program in partnership with Redwood Research which helped 75 participants develop the machine learning skills most relevant to alignment research. Over 20% of MLAB graduates went on to full-time AI safety roles in top organizations.

About this role

In this role, you will shape the frequency, nature, and effectiveness of how people interact through Constellation. Example areas of responsibility could include network culture, design of the physical workspace, workspace meals, and the Constellation Slack.

We’re looking for someone with an entrepreneurial mindset who is excited to tackle complex and challenging projects involving many stakeholders, and who can iterate in tight feedback loops based on both hard data and prudent judgment. This domain has received little focus for a year or more, and has never had a dedicated owner, so there is a lot of low-hanging fruit and opportunity to make a huge impact.

This role requires applying strategic thinking, an understanding of the AI safety field, and experience design principles to hit impact-oriented goals. There will be a particular focus on interpersonal dynamics at the level of individual researchers, the Constellation network, and the broader AI safety ecosystem. Building a network of individual relationships to understand researchers’ needs as well as a source of rich, intuitive feedback will be important.

This role will be part of our Programs team and require close collaboration with teammates on both the Programs and Operations teams. Please note: when applying for any one Program Manager role, we will also consider you for other Program Manager roles that could potentially be a good fit.

Example responsibilities

Day-to-day work can vary substantially depending on the program. Example responsibilities specific to Hosting Programs include:

• Building systems to measure network health, including participant satisfaction, Constellation’s impact on network participants, and network engagement
• Monitoring network health and identifying opportunities for improvement
• Designing and implementing improvements to mediums of interaction (physical space, Slack, meals, etc.)
• Creating and iterating on programs that reinforce network culture and community norms
• Developing frameworks to systematically gather and act on community feedback

Example responsibilities applicable to all Constellation Program Managers include:

• Defining goals and determining effective and practical ways to measure them
• Taking responsibility for overall success by tracking progress and iterating as needed
• Gathering and analysis of data, including quantitative analysis, survey design, user interviews, etc.
• Coordinating with the Program Operations team to ensure smooth implementation of designs and other plans
• Building personal relationships with a wide variety of network participants and an understanding of their work, challenges, and interests
• Crafting thoughtful, socially intelligent, sometimes politically sensitive communications (verbal or written) designed to produce specific results

Skills needed

• Understanding of AI safety ideas, major lines of research, and ecosystem actors (e.g. being able to have high-level discussions about our focus areas)
• Ability to develop an intuitive model for Constellation’s strategy and how it supports the mission of safely navigating the development of transformative AI, and to evaluate specific tactical decisions in relation to that strategy and mission
• Ability to interact effectively with technical researchers, policy experts, organizational leaders, academics, industry professionals, and other ecosystem participants
• Ability to plan and run programming for busy stakeholders, including senior researchers, organizational leaders, and prominent field experts
• Ability to intentionally shape cultural norms and values through policy, communications, and other actions
• Ability to model and reason about systems of people and organizations with a variety of goals and incentives, including how culture develops and affects group behavior
• Nuanced understanding of individuals’ motivations as well as an ability to predict how changes in programs (including small changes such as nuances in scheduling, communication, or physical space design) may affect the person’s feelings and behavior
• Ability to find effective ways (trading off accuracy, precision, and measurement cost) to measure qualitative goals and performing effective qualitative and quantitative analysis of that data
• Reliable tracking, prioritization, and execution of large numbers of tasks, as well as execution of complex projects involving multiple contributors and stakeholders
• High initiative, speed, and ability to get things done, while cutting through ambiguity and taking a strong sense of ownership
• Ability to design systems and processes that are efficient, robust, and scalable
• Ability to identify and build from the fundamental assumptions or elements of a problem
• Strong teamwork, including a focus on team success, ability to rapidly build trusting relationships, and to disagree actively and constructively

Compensation and Logistics

$100,000 - $190,000 per year

This is a full-time, on-site role. We are willing to sponsor visas as needed. We would like the candidate to start as soon as possible after receiving an offer, though there is some flexibility. We offer catered lunches and dinners, covered PPO health, dental, and vision insurance, and a 401(k) as well as monthly commuter expense reimbursements.

Our office is in downtown Berkeley, CA, thirteen seconds from the nearest BART (metro) stop. 

We value diversity in all respects and base our hiring decisions on the needs of the organization and individual qualifications.  We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age or disability.