OpenAI wants to make a big hire, for a candidate who will lead on tackling the threat which frontier AI poses to \u2018critical vulnerabilities\u2019 in cyberdefenses, and can work on emerging AI risks like biosecurity.<\/b>
\nIf you\u2019re interested in a high-stress, high-compensation role, where you get to battle the emerging threat of frontier-grade AI systems being used for malicious cyberattacks, OpenAI might have the job for you.
The ChatGPT firm has announced it\u2019s hiring a Head of Preparedness. In a post on X, CEO Sam Altman said the position would work on mitigating the growing threat of AI being used aggressively by bad actors in the world of cybersecurity. He claimed we are now \u201cseeing models get so good at computer security they are beginning to find critical vulnerabilities.\u201d
The CEO\u2019s statements about LLMs posing growing risks to cyberdefenders are backed up by other firms in the industry. Last month, OpenAI rival Anthropic posted a report about how a Chinese state-sponsored group manipulated its Claude Code tool into attempting infiltration of \u201croughly thirty global targets,\u201d including large tech companies, financial institutions, chemical manufacturers, and government agencies, \u201cwithout substantial human intervention.\u201d
Altman called for candidates who \u201cwant to help the world figure out how to enable cybersecurity defenders with cutting-edge capabilities\u201d while still \u201censuring attackers can’t use them for harm.\u201d According to the job spec, other major risk areas the successful candidate is set to work on include \u201cbiosecurity.\u201d In this context, biosecurity could mean advanced AI systems being used to design bioweapons, a risk more than 100 scientists from universities and organizations across the planet have warned about.
Whoever lands the new role will be expected to keep up with evolving AI risks, and oversee the company’s \u00ab\u00a0preparedness framework as new risks, capabilities, or external expectations emerge.\u00a0\u00bb
Though the compensation package on offer looks generous\u2014north of $500k plus equity\u2014it doesn\u2019t look like a gig for the faint of heart. Altman said it is set to be \u201ca stressful job\u201d that will see the successful candidate \u201cjump into the deep end pretty much immediately.\u201d
There\u2019s a good chance the CEO isn\u2019t exaggerating when it comes to the position\u2019s stress levels. Reports about burnout at the AI firm have been building for some time, as per reports from publications like Wired. Former technical team executives like Calvin French-Owen have posted first-hand accounts of a secretive, high-pressure environment, with a heavy emphasis on Twitter \u00ab\u00a0vibes\u00a0\u00bb, alongside anecdotal reports of 12-hour days being plentiful on social media.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.<\/p>\n