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Strategic Projects Lead - Ai Safety

AfterQuery

OnSite San Francisco
AI Scrum Master Public Relations Advertising

Job Score

100 pts
On-site model (+70) AI (+10) Scrum Master (+10) Public Relations (+10)

About AfterQuery

AfterQuery is an applied research lab curating data solutions for foundation model development.

We serve every frontier AI lab with the mission of delivering the best data to power the best models. In doing so, we can make expertise that once took a lifetime to build available to anyone who needs it. Our customers are the ones building the foundation models themselves and our work sits directly in the loop of how those systems improve.

This is a rare opportunity to join a company at a defining moment in AI. Since raising our $30M Series A at a $300M valuation, AfterQuery has grown well over a $100M revenue run rate.

We're based in San Francisco and backed by leading investors including Altos Ventures, BoxGroup, and Y Combinator and angels from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta Superintelligence Labs, and Microsoft AI.

Why Apply

Massive Opportunity:
We were one of the fastest-growing YC companies in our batch, and we believe we can become one of the fastest-growing YC companies of all time.

Founding Impact:
You will own and architect core infrastructure systems that power our platform from the ground up.

Equity & Growth:
Competitive salary and meaningful equity. As we scale, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the engineering organization and lead major technical initiatives.

Strong Team:
Our founding team has experience from Citadel Securities, Meta, Google, Silver Lake, and Morgan Stanley — work alongside world-class engineers and researchers.

Responsibilities

  • Project and client management: Partner directly with the safety, alignment, and trust & safety teams at frontier AI labs — scoping their hardest data problems, translating them into deliverable programs, and driving revenue.

  • Manage expert teams: Recruit and lead specialized contributors — red teamers, security researchers, trust & safety practitioners, and domain risk experts — and hold a high bar on the quality of what they produce.

  • Shape how frontier models are made safe: Design the specifications behind adversarial datasets, jailbreak and attack taxonomies, refusal-boundary and over-refusal sets, and safety benchmarks that labs use to measure and improve model behavior.

  • Build the red teaming machinery: Stand up repeatable methodologies — human red team campaigns, automated attack generation, coverage tracking against harm taxonomies — rather than one-off deliverables.

  • End-to-end execution: Own projects from first conversation through final delivery, in a fast-moving environment where the spec often does not exist yet.

  • Operational impact: Support initiatives across building, analysis, coordination, and execution as we scale the safety practice.

Required Qualifications

  • 2+ years in AI safety, red teaming, trust & safety, adversarial ML, or security research; at a frontier AI lab, FAANG, top security firm, or equivalent.

  • Hands-on adversarial experience: jailbreaking or stress-testing frontier models, prompt injection research, offensive security, penetration testing, bug bounty, CTFs, or trust & safety investigations and enforcement.

  • Fluency with how safety work is actually structured (harm taxonomies, evaluation design, safety frameworks and model policy).

  • High agency and the ability to execute in ambiguity; comfort defining the problem before solving it.

  • Strong writing. Much of this job is specifying risk precisely enough that fifty other people can execute against it.

  • Genuine passion for AI and interest in entrepreneurship.

  • Demonstrated track record of competitive success.

  • Strong leadership and communication skills.

  • Python proficiency and the ability to write production-quality code.

 

Preferred Qualifications

  • Published safety, alignment, or security research.

  • Track record in bug bounty, CTF, or model red teaming competitions.

  • Experience building automated red teaming or eval pipelines.

  • Depth in a high-consequence risk domain (cyber, bio, fraud and financial crime, child safety, influence operations).

  • Experience using AI tools to automate workflows and build products.

About Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is currently the fastest-growing field in the technology market. The revolution in generative models (GPT, Claude, Gemini) has created massive demand for AI-specialized professionals.

Key areas of practice include Machine Learning Engineering, MLOps, Prompt Engineering, AI Research, and Applied AI. Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and LLM knowledge are essential skills.

AI salaries are the highest in the technology sector, with many remote work opportunities at international companies.

About Scrum Master

The Scrum Master is the professional responsible for facilitating the adoption of Scrum and agile practices within development teams. They act as servant leaders, removing impediments, promoting continuous improvement, and ensuring Scrum events and ceremonies happen in the best possible way.

Key skills include event facilitation (sprint planning, daily, review, retrospective), backlog management, team coaching, conflict resolution, and agile metrics (velocity, burndown, cycle time). Knowledge of Jira, Trello, Azure DevOps, and frameworks like Kanban, XP, and SAFe is a differentiator.

Scrum Masters in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who can promote team autonomy, create psychologically safe environments, and lead agile transformations at scale. The field offers opportunities from junior scrum master to agile coach, head of agile, and director of agile transformation.

About Public Relations

The Public Relations (PR) area focuses on managing the reputation, image, and communication of an organization with its various stakeholders (such as clients, investors, employees, media, and the community). PR professionals develop corporate communication strategies, manage media relations (press relations), organize institutional events, and work in image crisis prevention and management.

About Advertising

The Advertising area is aimed at the planning, creation, and delivery of communication campaigns to promote brands, products, ideas, or services. Professionals in the sector work in advertising agencies or in-house marketing departments in creative fields (art direction, copywriting), strategic planning, account management, and media buying.

Discover Other Areas

Understand the scope of work, key skills, and tools used in different career areas.

About Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence (BI) is the area responsible for transforming raw data into strategic information for decision-making. BI professionals build dashboards, reports, and analyses that help companies understand their performance and identify growth opportunities.

Key skills include data modeling (star schema, snowflake), ETL (extraction, transformation, loading), advanced SQL, BI tools (Power BI, Tableau, Looker), data warehousing, KPIs, and business metrics analysis (MRR, churn, cohort). Knowledge of dbt, Airflow, and data pipelines is a differentiator.

BI professionals in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master data visualization, analytics engineering, and can translate complex data into actionable insights for the business. The field offers opportunities from BI analyst to head of data, with a focus on data-driven decision making.

About Data

The Data field has undergone a radical transformation with the rise of Generative AI. Data professionals are fundamental for evidence-based decision-making across all industries.

Key specializations include Data Engineering, Data Science, Business Intelligence, Machine Learning Engineering, and Analytics. Tools like SQL, Python, Spark, dbt, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) are essential.

The data market continues with high demand and salaries among the most competitive in the technology sector, with many remote work opportunities.

About Fullstack

Fullstack developers are versatile professionals capable of working on both frontend and backend of web and mobile applications. They master multiple technologies and can build complete products end-to-end, from the user interface to server infrastructure.

Key skills include proficiency in at least one complete stack (React/Vue/Angular + Node.js/PHP/Python/Java), databases (SQL and NoSQL), REST/GraphQL APIs, Git versioning, CI/CD, and basic infrastructure knowledge (Docker, cloud). Clean architecture, DDD, and testing are important differentiators.

Fullstack developers are highly valued in startups and companies that need versatile and autonomous professionals. The field offers opportunities from junior developer to software architect, with a focus on complete delivery, holistic product vision, and ability to work across multiple application layers.

About Content Manager

The Content Manager is the professional responsible for leading the entire content strategy, production, and management of an organization. They define the editorial strategy, coordinate writing teams, and ensure content aligns with business goals and brand identity.

Key skills include content strategy, editorial planning, content audit, buyer persona, customer journey, content ops, content governance, performance metrics (ROI, engagement, organic traffic), and team management. Knowledge of WordPress, Contentful, Notion, and analytics tools is a differentiator.

Content Managers in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who can align content with conversion funnels, lead multidisciplinary teams, and use data to optimize editorial strategy. The field offers opportunities from content manager to head of content, with a focus on strategy, quality, and scale.

About Mobile Development

Mobile Development is one of the most dynamic and constantly evolving fields in the technology market. With billions of smartphones worldwide, the demand for qualified mobile developers continues to grow exponentially.

Key stacks include Flutter (Dart), React Native (JavaScript/TypeScript), Kotlin (Android native), Swift (iOS native), and hybrid frameworks like Ionic and Capacitor. Knowledge of mobile architecture (MVVM, Clean Architecture), mobile CI/CD (Fastlane, Bitrise, Codemagic), and App Store/Google Play publishing are essential.

Senior mobile developers are highly valued professionals, with competitive salaries and many remote work opportunities at international companies. Specializing in cross-platform or native is a strategic career decision.

Career Guides

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Planning, skills, interviews, and professional growth in IT, Data Science, DevOps, and Product.

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Design Career Guide

UX/UI, Graphic Design, Product Design. Portfolio, tools, interviews, and growth in the Design field.

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Marketing Career Guide

SEO, Paid Media, Growth, Content Marketing. Certifications, tools, and strategies to grow in Digital Marketing.

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Finance Career Guide

Financial market, investments, corporate finance, certifications, and strategies to grow in the financial field.

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Communication Career Guide

Journalism, PR, Corporate Communication, Content Marketing, and Multimedia Production.

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Administration Career Guide

Business Management, HR, Logistics, Consulting, Project Management, and Entrepreneurship.

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Data Career Guide

Data Science, Data Engineering, BI, Machine Learning, and AI. From training to the job market.

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Product Career Guide

Product Management, Product Ownership, Agile, Scrum, and OKRs. From strategy to execution.

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Tech & Remote Glossary

Stop getting lost in interviews and job descriptions

The job market, especially within tech and global companies, has developed its own dialect. Not understanding these acronyms can make you lose valuable opportunities or poorly negotiate your contract. To end this problem, we created the Definitive Glossary for the Remote Professional.

🏢 Work Models & Routine

Async (Asynchronous Work)
A communication model where responses don't need to be immediate. Instead of back-to-back meetings, the team relies on well-structured documents, threads, and messages. It's the gold standard for global companies spanning multiple time zones.
Sync (Synchronous Work)
The opposite of Async. It requires the team to be online and available at the same time for meetings, live chats, and real-time collaboration.
Daily / Stand-up
A quick daily meeting (usually 15 minutes) common in Agile (Scrum) methodologies. The team answers three questions: What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? Are there any blockers?
All-Hands / Town Hall
A company-wide meeting involving all employees. Usually led by the founders (C-Levels) to present results, new goals, and answer team questions.
1:1 (One-on-One)
A recurring individual meeting between a professional and their direct manager. It is used for career alignment, feedback, and problem-solving, not just for project status updates.

💰 Contracts, Benefits & Compensation

PTO (Paid Time Off)
Instead of strict, categorized leave policies, modern US companies usually offer a flexible pool of days (e.g., 20 days of PTO, or even "Unlimited PTO") that you can use for vacations, sick days, or personal matters, while receiving your regular compensation.
Equity / Stock Options
Company ownership. The startup offers you the right to buy shares at a heavily discounted strike price in the future. If the company grows, goes public, or is acquired, these shares can be highly lucrative.
Vesting (Vesting Schedule)
The rule that controls your Equity. It usually lasts 4 years. You don't get all the shares on day one; you "earn" them gradually as you stay with the company. A "1-year Cliff" means you must stay for at least one year to receive your first batch of shares.
RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)
Unlike Stock Options (where you have the right to buy the stock), RSUs are actual shares the company grants you as a bonus or part of your compensation package, following a strict Vesting schedule.
Independent Contractor (1099 / B2B)
The most common international hiring model for global talent working for US companies. You act as a service provider (business-to-business), receiving the gross salary (often six-figure compensation) without standard local payroll tax deductions at the source.

🤖 Recruitment & Hiring Process

ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
The "robot" that reads your resume. Software like Greenhouse, Ashby, and Workday are used to filter candidates by keywords before a human even looks at the document. (Pro tip: this is why your resume must be clean, semantic, and have the right keywords).
JD (Job Description)
The document that lists the responsibilities, technical requirements, and benefits of the open position.
Cultural Fit
The interview stage that evaluates if your core values, communication style, and worldview align with the company's culture. This is the ultimate test of your Soft Skills.
Onboarding
The integration process. It's the period of your first few weeks at the company, where you get your access credentials, learn about the culture, study the internal documentation, and understand how the product works.

🚀 How to use this to your advantage?

The secret isn't just knowing what these acronyms mean, but using them actively. If during an interview for a premium tech role you ask, "How does your PTO policy and Vesting schedule work?", the recruiter will immediately perceive you as a high-level professional, familiar with the global market standards.

The remote job market requires preparation. And having the right vocabulary is the first big step to securing six-figure proposals and standing out among thousands of applicants.

Expert Tip

The Back-End Development Market

The Back-End Development Market: Barriers, Opportunities, and the Path to the Top

Behind every brilliant application, revolutionary artificial intelligence, or successful fintech, there is an invisible and robust ecosystem. Welcome to the Back-End universe.

The Modern Back-End Paradox: Did AI Steal the Jobs?

With the rise of tools like GitHub Copilot and Cursor, many junior developers wonder if the Back-End career is threatened. The short answer is: no. In fact, it has evolved.

Artificial Intelligence has made writing basic "CRUD" (Create, Read, Update, Delete) code trivial. However, the market no longer pays six-figure salaries for writing repetitive code. The global market is actively hunting for Software Engineers—professionals who understand architecture, resilience, latency, and scalability. The Back-End didn't die; the bar was simply raised.

Barriers to Entry: What Separates Juniors from Seniors

Entering Back-End development today requires overcoming technical barriers that go far beyond mastering a programming language (like Java, C#, Go, or Python). Key barriers include:

  • System Design: Knowing how to design a system that supports 100 users is easy. Designing one that handles 1 million requests per second requires deep knowledge of load balancing, caching (Redis/Memcached), and message queues (RabbitMQ/Kafka).
  • Data Complexity: The debate is no longer just "SQL vs. NoSQL". It is about data modeling, replication, sharding, and how to avoid database bottlenecks in distributed systems.
  • Security: With data breaches costing millions, companies require developers to master security practices from day one. Not knowing the vulnerabilities listed by the OWASP Top 10 is a dealbreaker for premium remote roles.
  • DevOps and Cloud Culture: The modern Back-End developer must understand containerization (Docker), orchestration (Kubernetes), and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure).

Golden Opportunities: Where is the Money?

For those who overcome these barriers, the market is a blue ocean of opportunities, especially for US/Global Remote work.

  • Migration to Microservices and Serverless: Corporate giants continue to dismantle legacy monoliths. Professionals who understand the patterns described by Martin Fowler are highly sought after.
  • High-Performance Languages: While traditional languages maintain their corporate strength, the use of Go (Golang) and Rust has skyrocketed for systems requiring massive concurrency and low memory footprint (Green Computing).
  • AI Infrastructure: AI models don't run in a vacuum. There is a massive demand for Back-End engineers proficient in Python and C++ to build data pipelines (MLOps) and the APIs that serve these models in real time.

Success Stories: Architectural Decisions That Changed the Game

True Back-End engineering shines when solving impossible problems. Let's look at real-market examples:

The Discord Case (Migration to Rust): Discord faced latency spikes in its core Read States service, originally written in Go. Because Go's Garbage Collector caused critical millisecond freezes, the team rewrote the service in Rust, completely eliminating latency spikes and supporting trillions of messages with absurd efficiency. This proved the value of choosing the right tool for performance limits.

The Netflix Case (Pioneering Microservices): Netflix transformed a monolithic system that broke under pressure into an architecture of thousands of independently managed microservices. They pioneered the concept of Chaos Engineering, purposely shutting down production servers to ensure their Back-End was resilient to failure.

Practical Tips: How to Land Premium Global Jobs

  1. Master the Fundamentals: Before learning the trendy framework of the month, study data structures, algorithms, and time complexity (Big-O Notation). This is exactly what will be tested in high-level technical interviews (Whiteboard interviews).
  2. Build a Problem-Focused Portfolio: A GitHub repository with a "To-Do List" won't impress anyone. Build an API that handles asynchronous image processing, create a scalable URL shortener, or engineer a messaging system using WebSockets and Redis.
  3. Study Real Cloud Architecture: Get solutions-based certifications (like AWS Certified Developer or Solutions Architect). These serve as a "Seal of Approval" to bypass strict Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) like Greenhouse or Ashby.
  4. Flawless Technical Communication: According to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey, the highest-paying roles require asynchronous global collaboration. Your code documentation, commit messages, and PR reviews must be pristine and professional.

Verdict: Is a Career in Back-End Worth It?

Absolutely. If you are an analytical person who loves solving complex puzzles and cares about the security and efficiency of things no one sees, the Back-End is your place.

It is a career virtually immune to visual fads. While Front-End libraries change every few years, the fundamentals of relational databases, networks, and operating systems remain the same. It is a rock-solid foundation for a highly lucrative and globalized career.