Vacancies

Current vacancies and routes for doctoral study, fellowships, research visits, and student projects are listed below. Before contacting us, please read the relevant section of the Contact page, which explains what information to include in your enquiry.

Open positions

Now Open

Senior Researcher in Interpretability and AI Safety

Grade and salary Research Grade 8, £49,119–£58,265 per year
Contract Fixed term, 1 year, with possibility of extension for a further year
Closing date 22 September 2026 at 12 noon
Location Central Oxford, Department of Engineering Science
Vacancy ID 188495
Contact fazl.barez@eng.ox.ac.uk

This role researches interpretability, evaluations, and AI safety for continuously learning systems: evaluating systems whose behaviour keeps moving, and tracking, from the inside, whether the structures that carry their capabilities and safety properties hold up under change.

We are looking for candidates with:

  • A PhD in machine learning, computer science, or a related field, with several years of professional experience
  • A research background in at least one of: mechanistic or representational interpretability; model evaluation and benchmarking; continual or lifelong learning; or AI safety (alignment, scalable oversight, adversarial robustness)
  • A strong publication record at venues including NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, or established AI safety forums
  • The ability to design and execute large-scale foundation model experiments

Applications require a covering letter with a statement of research interests, a CV, and two referees' details, submitted online.

Apply →
Closed positions
Closed

Research Assistants in Continual and Automated Interpretability (2 posts)

Duration 6 months
Location Oxford, in person. Remote arrangements may be considered in exceptional cases.
Start date As soon as possible
Principal investigator Fazl Barez

AI systems can change after deployment through in-context learning, memory, continued training, or other forms of adaptation. Most interpretability methods, however, analyse a fixed model at a single point in time.

This project developed tools for studying how internal representations and circuits change as a model learns from experience.

Closed

Postdoctoral Researcher in AI and Risk, Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative

Grade and salary Grade 8, £49,119–£58,265 per year
Contract 2 years, fixed term
Closing date 8 April 2026 at 12 noon BST
Location Oxford Martin School, 34 Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BD
Vacancy ID 185217
Contact recruitment@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk

This position focused on AI risk, governance, and the societal effects of advanced AI systems. The postholder was expected to conduct academic research alongside policy-facing work with policymakers and international organisations.

TAIG studentships and fellowships

The Technical AI Governance Programme provides funding for doctoral and postdoctoral research at the intersection of technical AI safety and governance. Applicants considering a DPhil or postdoctoral position with TSG Lab should review the programme's eligibility requirements and application deadlines. This is particularly important for overseas applicants who require support with university fees.

Explore TAIG funding →

Doctoral study

TSG Lab supervises DPhil students admitted through the following Oxford programmes:

  • DPhil in Engineering Science Application deadline usually in early December
  • DPhil in Computer Science See the programme page for the relevant deadline
  • AIMS CDT Application deadline usually in mid-January

We can also supervise students admitted through other Oxford CDTs and departments where the research is a good fit.

TAIG studentships may fund students admitted through any of these routes. Funding and admissions requirements vary, so applicants should check the relevant programme and funding pages for the year in which they intend to apply.

For guidance on contacting a potential supervisor, see the DPhil applications section of the Contact page →

Other opportunities

  • Research assistant positions Short-term positions are advertised on this page when available.
  • Visiting researchers We welcome proposals for visits of 3 to 12 months. Visitors normally secure their own funding.
  • Oxford undergraduate and master's students Undergraduates, students on integrated master's courses, and MSc students are welcome to enquire about final-year projects, Part IV projects, MSc dissertations, internships, reading groups, and smaller research projects undertaken alongside a degree.

For application and enquiry requirements, see the Contact page →