OpenAI, the company known for developing the ChatGPT AI model, has just posted a job opening for the position of Head of Preparedness (head of the preparedness department). This role is part of the Safety Systems team in San Francisco and focuses on ensuring that AI models are safe and responsible. According to the job description, this person will lead the strategy and implementation of the so-called Preparedness Framework, which explains how OpenAI monitors and prepares for new model capabilities that could cause serious harm.
The Safety Systems team builds evaluations, safeguards, and safety frameworks to ensure that models perform as intended in the real world. OpenAI has already invested heavily in preparedness across several generations of models, including foundational capability evaluations, threat models, and mitigations. As model capabilities grow, safety standards are expected to expand.
Why are they looking for a new head now?
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, personally shared the job posting on the social network X on December 27, 2025. He described the role as "stressful" and emphasized that AI models are beginning to pose real challenges, such as their potential impact on users' mental health or their ability to find critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Altman encouraged applicants who want to help protect cybersecurity, ensure that attackers cannot misuse AI to cause harm, and manage risks associated with biological capabilities or self-improving systems.
This job posting follows changes within the team. In 2023, OpenAI announced the creation of a team dedicated to preparing for catastrophic risks, ranging from phishing attacks to speculative threats such as nuclear ones. But in 2024, the previous head of preparedness, Aleksander Madry, was reassigned to a role focused on AI reasoning. Other safety executives left or changed positions. In April 2025, OpenAI updated its Preparedness Framework, stating that it might adjust its safety requirements if a competing lab released a high-risk model without similar safeguards.
What are the main responsibilities?
The Head of Preparedness will own OpenAI's entire preparedness strategy. This includes building capability evaluations, establishing threat models, and coordinating mitigations to create a coherent and scalable safety process. Specifically:
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Lead the development of advanced capability evaluations that are accurate, robust, and adapted to rapid product cycles.
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Oversee the design of risk mitigations in areas such as cybersecurity and biology to ensure they are technically sound and effective.
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Direct the interpretation of evaluation results that influence decisions about launches, policy, and safety cases.
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Refine the Preparedness Framework in response to new risks, capabilities, or external expectations.
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Collaborate with research, engineering, product, policy monitoring, and governance teams, as well as external partners, to ensure preparedness is integrated into real-world deployment.
Risks include cyber misuse, in which models assist with hacking with minimal human input; mental health, where users discuss serious issues in conversations with AI; and biological threats. Altman warned of a growing AI fraud crisis in which systems are used to impersonate people on a massive scale.
Who would be a good fit?
The ideal candidate should be motivated by ensuring the safe deployment of advanced AI systems. They need deep technical expertise in machine learning, AI safety, evaluations, security, or related risk areas. Experience designing or conducting rigorous evaluations of complex technical systems is essential. They must be able to make clear technical decisions under uncertainty, communicate precisely, and align diverse stakeholders around safety decisions.
Additional advantages include experience managing technical teams or cross-functional initiatives in research environments, the ability to balance scientific depth with operational realities, and the ability to deliver high-quality work quickly. Experience with threat modeling, cybersecurity, biosecurity, misalignment, or other frontier risks is a plus.
The salary is listed as $555,000 plus equity, which at the current exchange rate is approximately CZK 12,765,000 plus equity.
