Associate, AI2050

Schmidt Sciences is a nonprofit organization founded in 2024 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt that works to accelerate scientific knowledge and breakthroughs with the most promising, advanced tools to support a thriving planet. The organization prioritizes research in areas poised for impact, including AI and advanced computing, astrophysics, biosciences, climate, and space, as well as supporting researchers in a variety of disciplines through its science systems program.

The Role

Reporting to the Director of the AI and Advanced Computing Institute at Schmidt Sciences, the Associate will join the growing Institute team to manage the AI2050 fellowship program .

About AI 2050

AI2050 is an initiative at Schmidt Sciences grounded in the following motivating question: It’s 2050. AI has turned out to be hugely beneficial to society. What happened? What are the most important problems we solved and the opportunities and possibilities we realized to ensure this outcome?

The initiative aims to answer this question primarily by making awards to support work conducted by individuals from across the globe and at various stages in their careers. Eric Schmidt and James Manyika are co-chairs of the initiative.

Awards

AI2050 issues awards to support work conducted by researchers. These awards primarily aim to enable and encourage bold and ambitious, often multi-disciplinary work that is typically hard to fund but socially beneficial. Awards are given for exceptional work tackling one or multiple items from a working list of hard problems. AI2050 awards are selected using a closed nominations process, so there is no application.

Artifacts

AI2050 shares research findings from our Fellows. Work supported by AI2050 is open-source and published so that society can benefit from this important work. This includes research from the award recipient network, our collaborations with leading groups, and the initiative itself.

Community

AI2050 Fellows come from around the globe. Through this initiative, we support talented researchers at various stages of their careers and help encourage the next generation of researchers to focus on the hard problems in AI. AI2050 Fellows, the broader AI community, and other stakeholders regularly convene to discuss and advance the initiative's work.

Key Responsibilities

The specific work would be developed jointly by the Associate and their manager and may change from time to time. This role would be responsible for the following AI2050 program’s work elements:

Program Operations & Management

• Manage the selection and review process for the Early Career and Senior Fellowships
• Work closely with the Director, AI Institute on internal assessment of candidates and proposals, on conducting diligence, and coordinating expert review
• Oversee communications with awardee PIs and research teams to track progress, identify challenges, and determine if additional support is necessary during the duration of the award
• Optimize budgets and financial resources associated with the AI2050 program, monitoring expenditures and forecasting future needs to ensure efficient use of resources
• Support the design and organization of annual convenings around strategic program goals, including community building and accelerating science outcomes
• Develop high-quality program artifacts, such as annual reports, internal briefings, research highlights, grantee profiles, and public communications
  
  

Strategic Program Development And Collaboration

• Work with Director, AI Institute on long-term strategy of the program
• Coordinate the review committee to evaluate new opportunities for future program direction
• Actively engage with stakeholders to identify emerging trends and opportunities for collaboration, acting as a conduit for bringing in innovative ideas and perspectives from the AI community
• Establish systems to analyze the effectiveness and impact of AI2050, utilizing metrics and analysis to measure success and inform strategic decision-making
• Work closely with the Manager of Delivery and Grantee Affairs on post-approval grant making
• Collaborate with the Communications team to promote AI2050 thought leadership, research outputs, and website
  
  

Additional Responsibilities

• Manage strategic grants for AI-AC focus area
• Coordinate closely across Schmidt Sciences programs and teams to ensure alignment and shared learning across programs
• Coordinate weekly AI-AC focus area team meetings
  
  

Required Qualifications

• A bachelor’s or master’s degree, preferably in computer science or a related field
• Familiarity with AI, technology, scientific research, or adjacent fields
• Subject matter expertise in at least one of the AI2050’s Hard Problems in AI
• 2-4 years of work experience in program management, philanthropic initiatives, and/or scientific/technical domains
• Experience with the design and operations of fellowship programs, particularly those that involve US and international Tier 1 academic institutions
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and a record of impact in high-intensity, team-based environments
• The highest integrity and ability to maintain confidentiality
  
  

$120,000 - $160,000 a year

This is an exempt role.