CBRNE Safeguards & Enforcement Operations Specialist

Location: San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC; or New York, NY preferred
Work Arrangement: In-office candidates in preferred locations prioritized; remote may be considered for an exceptional fit
Contract: 6-month W2 contract
Pay: $130–$145/hour, based on experience
Schedule: Full-time

Russell Tobin is supporting a leading AI technology company in hiring a CBRNE Safeguards & Enforcement Operations Specialist to support a highly sensitive AI safety and safeguards program.

This role combines Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) subject-matter expertise with hands-on safeguards enforcement operations. The specialist will help evaluate potentially high-risk use of advanced AI systems, apply established safeguards and access-control policies, review user and customer activity, and support controls designed to mitigate CBRNE-related misuse and other high-consequence risks.

The ideal candidate brings a strong foundation in CBRNE/CBRN, WMD risk, biosecurity, counterproliferation, nonproliferation, or a related national security field, along with the judgment and operational discipline required to apply complex policies to real-world cases.

Important context: This role may involve reviewing and engaging with explicit or sensitive material, including content that is sexual, violent, psychologically disturbing, or related to potentially dangerous activities. Candidates must be comfortable working with sensitive and high-consequence subject matter.

What You'll Do

• Review customer signals, user interactions, exchanges, content, and code to identify potential safeguards or policy violations.
• Apply CBRNE subject-matter expertise when evaluating activity that may present chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosives, WMD, or other high-consequence risks.
• Enforce established safeguards workflows, access controls, and policy guidelines accurately and consistently.
• Support controls associated with trusted-access and third-party enterprise use of advanced AI systems.
• Evaluate complex and potentially ambiguous cases to determine whether activity is permissible, requires additional controls, should be escalated, or may violate established safeguards.
• Identify potential CBRNE misuse indicators, emerging threat patterns, and concerning user behaviors.
• Make or support defensible enforcement and escalation decisions based on available evidence, applicable policies, and risk.
• Collaborate with Strategy Analysts, Policy Managers, Threat Intelligence Investigators, and other cross-functional partners.
• Identify emerging trends and highlight potential gaps in existing policies, controls, or safeguards.
• Flag relevant examples and content that may support classifier refinement and improvements to automated safety systems.
• Support content and data labeling when operational needs arise.
• Handle customer communications and appeals related to safeguards or policy-enforcement decisions.
• Provide surge review support during periods of increased operational demand.
• Triage cross-functional requests and provide timely subject-matter guidance and operational support.
• Produce comprehensive weekly reporting on enforcement workflows, emerging risks, recurring patterns, and operational findings.
• Help improve workflows, procedures, escalation criteria, and safeguards based on lessons learned from frontline enforcement activity.

Required Background

Strong candidates should bring meaningful professional experience in one or more of the following areas:

• CBRNE / CBRN
• Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives risk
• Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) risk or counter-WMD
• Counterproliferation or nonproliferation
• Biosecurity or biosafety
• Chemical security
• Nuclear or radiological security
• High-consequence threat assessment
• National security, defense, intelligence, or homeland security
• Safeguards, protective controls, access controls, or risk mitigation

Candidates should be able to apply their subject-matter expertise to operational decisions rather than working solely in an academic, research, or advisory capacity.

What We're Looking For

• Strong CBRNE/CBRN subject-matter knowledge and an understanding of high-consequence risk.
• Experience assessing threats, risks, vulnerabilities, or potentially concerning activity.
• Ability to interpret and consistently apply safeguards, policies, controls, or operating procedures.
• Strong judgment when dealing with ambiguous or novel situations where established guidance may not provide an obvious answer.
• Experience with enforcement, compliance, investigations, inspections, safeguards, security operations, or risk-management workflows.
• Ability to recognize when a case requires escalation or additional subject-matter review.
• Strong analytical skills and a systematic approach to complex case review.
• Ability to identify patterns and emerging trends across multiple cases or signals.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to clearly document evidence, decision rationale, findings, and recommendations.
• Strong independent work capabilities and the ability to meet deadlines in a fast-moving environment.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with policy, strategy, investigations, threat intelligence, technical, and operational stakeholders.
• High level of discretion when handling sensitive information.
• Genuine interest in AI safety, responsible technology development, and preventing misuse of advanced AI systems.
• Comfort working with sensitive, disturbing, or potentially dangerous subject matter.

Strong Candidates May Also Have

• Experience working in U.S. government, defense, intelligence, homeland security, national laboratories, or other national-security environments.
• Experience with CBRNE safeguards or operational control frameworks.
• Counter-WMD, counterproliferation, threat reduction, or nonproliferation experience.
• Experience developing or implementing access-control frameworks for sensitive capabilities or information.
• Experience conducting investigations or reviewing potential policy, security, or compliance violations.
• Experience developing SOPs, playbooks, escalation procedures, or enforcement frameworks.
• Experience translating highly technical subject matter into clear operational guidance.
• Experience working with digital-platform Trust & Safety, policy enforcement, safeguards, or abuse-prevention teams.
• Familiarity with AI safety, responsible AI, model safeguards, or emerging technology risk.
• Experience evaluating technical information, user behavior, digital signals, or code.
• Data/content labeling or human-in-the-loop evaluation experience.
• Experience supporting enterprise customers or third-party risk and access-control programs.