Director, AI Strategy & Mental Health

The Director, AI Strategy & Mental Health will shape strategic initiatives at the intersection of artificial intelligence, mental health, youth well-being, and suicide prevention. In this leadership role, you will evaluate emerging AI technologies and help ensure their development and deployment prioritize human safety and emotional well-being. You will collaborate with technology companies, AI researchers, public-interest organizations, and mental health experts to advance safety evaluations, benchmarking approaches, and responsible AI practices. You will also translate complex technical developments into actionable recommendations, frameworks, and guidance for diverse stakeholders. Working across technical, research, policy, and program teams, you will identify emerging risks and opportunities while helping shape the broader conversation around AI and mental health. This fully remote opportunity is ideal for an experienced AI professional who combines technical fluency, strategic judgment, and a strong commitment to protecting vulnerable populations.

The ideal candidate brings substantial expertise in AI technology and safety or evaluation, combined with experience applying technical, research, or safety approaches in mental health or another high-stakes human-centered domain. They must be able to connect technical developments with their implications for people, products, institutions, and society.

• Approximately 7 or more years of relevant professional experience in AI, AI safety, responsible AI, AI evaluation, human-AI interaction, or a closely related field. Candidates with alternative career paths demonstrating equivalent expertise may also be considered.

• Strong working knowledge of contemporary AI technologies, including generative AI, large language models, multimodal systems, conversational AI, agents, memory and personalization, and emerging human-AI interfaces.

• Demonstrated knowledge of AI safety and evaluation, including model and system behavior, benchmarking, red-teaming, failure modes, safeguards, mitigations, and the strengths and limitations of current methodologies.

• Experience applying technology, safety, evaluation, research, or related expertise in a high-stakes human domain, such as mental health, suicide prevention, healthcare, public health, child and adolescent well-being, child protection, online safety, or violence prevention.

• Working knowledge of mental health, behavioral health, suicide prevention, public health, or an adjacent field, with the ability to engage meaningfully with subject-matter experts and understand the needs of people experiencing distress or vulnerability.

• Technical fluency to work independently and credibly with AI researchers, engineers, product leaders, and safety and evaluation teams. Hands-on machine learning engineering experience is not required.

• Ability to translate technical developments into practical insights for human behavior, safety, well-being, product design, policy, and organizational strategy.

• Excellent analytical, research synthesis, writing, and communication skills, including experience developing strategic frameworks, recommendations, guidance, or thought leadership.

• Strong professional judgment and the ability to navigate interdisciplinary work in a rapidly evolving technological and regulatory landscape.

• Experience coordinating complex initiatives involving multiple internal and external stakeholders, with demonstrated relationship-building and collaboration skills.

• Direct experience in mental health, suicide prevention, behavioral health, digital mental health, or a closely related discipline.

• Experience working with children, adolescents, families, developmental needs, or populations experiencing heightened vulnerability.

• Experience collaborating directly with technology-company product, research, safety, or evaluation teams.

• Experience developing or applying benchmarks, evaluation methodologies, safety frameworks, standards, or red-teaming approaches.

• Ability to translate technical research into accessible guidance for public-interest organizations, product teams, policymakers, practitioners, and other nontechnical audiences.

• An advanced degree in computer science, human-computer interaction (HCI), information science, behavioral or social science, public health, or another relevant field is advantageous but not required.