Automations Lead

You use AI and automation to make Pivotal's work faster and better, so that the team can do more without growing as fast.

• Salary: £86,750–£155,500 per year, depending on seniority. We may be able to pay more for exceptional candidates.

• Location: London, at our office at LISA

• Hours: Full time

• Visa: We can sponsor a Skilled Worker visa, but approval isn't guaranteed.

Why work at Pivotal

Pivotal finds people who can work on the biggest risks from advanced AI and gets them working on them. Since 2024, 135 fellows have taken part in our fellowships, and alumni now work at METR, Apollo Research, UK AISI and GovAI. We have grown from 2 staff in 2024 to 10 today, and we plan to reach at least 16 in 2027. Read more about us at pivotal-research.org, and about what it is like to work here.

What you will own

You’ll make the rest of the team faster & better by building & running the AI tools and automations behind our applications, fellow management, operations, etc. The goal is that Pivotal can run more and better programs without its team growing at the same rate. The AI safety field must grow a lot, and this will help Pivotal scale to support this growth.

We expect you to spend about 30% of your time making our existing tools better and more reliable. The rest goes to new tools. You talk to team members about what costs them the most time, tools they wish existed, and ship solutions quickly. Every tool has to meet our quality bar, protect personal data, and follow data protection law and our internal rules for AI use.

You might also be a central figure in a planned program on ‘AI for AI Safety’.

• Internal tools. Build and maintain automations and AI agents for applications, fellow management, operations and reporting.

• Application screening tools. Maintain the AI graders, check them for bias and errors, and design the human review steps around them.

• Data. Keep applicant, fellow and alumni data clean and connected, so that we can measure outcomes.

• Safe handling of data. Make sure our tools protect personal data and follow data protection law. You’ll have access to legal advice for this.

• AI use across the team. Help staff, and fellows, use AI tools well.

Who does well in this role

• Strong software engineering skills, and experience building tools with large language models and AI agents.

• You talk to users, find the work that matters most, and ship quickly.

• You care about reliability, security and data protection.

• You can explain technical trade-offs in plain language.

• You care about reducing catastrophic risks from AI.

We don’t expect anyone to be strong in all of this. If the role excites you, please apply, even if you match only part of what we describe here.

How we hire

We review applications as they come in, so applying early helps. The process has these stages:

• Written application. A short form and your CV. It takes about 30 minutes.

• Automated video interview. About 10 minutes. You record short answers to a few questions, at a time that suits you.

• Work task. About 2 hours, based on real work in this role. We pay you for this time. You may use AI tools, as you would in the job. Tell us which ones you used and how.

• Personal interview. About 45 minutes. We discuss your work task and how you would approach the role. With your consent, we record it so that more of the team can review it.

• Work trial and references. Up to three paid days working with us at our office in London. We also speak to two referees, after asking you.

If you need an adjustment at any stage, such as extra time, tell us and we will arrange it. If you have questions, email team@pivotal-research.org.