Zurich AI Safety is hiring a Director

Zurich AI Safety (ZAIS), a volunteer-led group that started as a reading group in 2022, is professionalizing its operations by hiring its first Director. The organization, which has grown to host events like the AI Futures Talk Series and the successful Zurich AI Safety Day (attracting 200+ participants and 20+ organizations in 2025), aims to build a robust talent pipeline in Switzerland. This strategic hire is timed to capitalize on Zurich's strong talent streams from ETH Zurich and major tech companies, and to position the Swiss ecosystem ahead of the high-profile 2027 Global AI Summit in Geneva.

The Director will have four key responsibilities: providing individualized career advising to promising students and professionals, executing targeted outreach to senior talent at firms like Google and IBM, managing ZAIS's volunteer team and event programs, and building strategic partnerships. The role requires Swiss/EU citizenship due to work permit regulations and is funded for 14 months with the goal of securing follow-up funding. This move signals a maturation of the Swiss AI safety community from volunteer-led activities to structured capacity building, aiming to connect academic excellence with industry expertise to address pressing AI governance challenges.