About the job
As a Research Engineer on our team, you'll build and eval model organisms of autonomous systems and develop the defensive agents needed to counter them. This work sits at the intersection of AI capabilities research, security, and policy—what we learn directly shapes how Anthropic and the world prepare for advanced AI.
Responsibilities
Design and build autonomous AI systems that can use tools and operate across diverse environments—creating model organisms that help us understand and defend against advanced adversarial AI
Create evals and training environments to understand and shape agent behavior in desirable ways
Develop defensive agents that can detect, disrupt, or outcompete adversarial AI systems in realistic scenarios
Interface Claude with hardware platforms (e.g. robotics, physical systems) to understand cyberphysical risks and defenses
Translate technical findings into compelling demonstrations and artifacts that inform policymakers and the public
Collaborate with external experts in cybersecurity, national security, and AI safety to scope and validate research directions
Qualifications
Minimum
Have strong software engineering skills, particularly in Python
Have experience building and working with LLM-based agents or autonomous systems
Are driven to find solutions to ambiguously scoped, high-stakes problems
Design and run experiments quickly, iterating fast toward useful results
Thrive in collaborative environments (we love pair programming!)
Care deeply about AI safety and want your work to have real-world impact on how humanity navigates advanced AI
Can own entire problems end-to-end, including both technical and non-technical components
Are comfortable working on sensitive projects that require discretion and integrity
Preferred
Experience with reinforcement learning, self-play, or multi-agent systems
Experience with robotics, hardware interfaces, or cyberphysical systems
Track record of building demos or prototypes that communicate complex technical ideas
Experience working with external stakeholders (policymakers, government, researchers)
Familiarity with AI safety research and threat modeling for advanced AI systems