OpenAI has opened a high-stakes vacancy that reads less like a tech job and more like a call for a crisis manager for the digital age. The company is hunting for a Head of Preparedness, a role explicitly designed to stand between rapidly advancing artificial intelligence and the potential catastrophes it could unleash.
This is not a standard safety compliance gig. CEO Sam Altman has been candid about the gravity of the position, warning prospective applicants that this will be a stressful job where they will jump into the deep end pretty much immediately.
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The urgency behind this hire stems from a significant shift in how OpenAI views its own creations. Altman recently admitted that AI agents are becoming a problem, noting that models are beginning to find critical vulnerabilities in computer security systems. This acknowledgment marks a pivotal moment. We are moving past theoretical discussions about future risks into a reality where AI models are capable of exposing software weaknesses without human intervention. The new Head of Preparedness will be tasked with a remit that spans cybersecurity, biosecurity, and the increasingly visible impact of AI on mental health.
The financial package reflects the colossal weight of these responsibilities. OpenAI is offering a salary of $555,000 (roughly Rs 5 Crore), along with equity that could significantly increase that figure. However, the paycheck comes with the expectation of managing existential risks.
The job description demands a leader who can operationalize a “Preparedness Framework” to evaluate frontier capabilities—essentially, predicting how a super-intelligent system might go rogue or be weaponized before it happens. This involves building threat models that are not just robust but scalable enough to keep pace with models that are learning and evolving faster than any human team can fully monitor.
One of the most pressing challenges for this incoming executive will be the dual-use dilemma. Altman framed the core objective as helping the world figure out how to enable cybersecurity defenders with cutting-edge capabilities while ensuring attackers cannot use them for harm.
This is a delicate balance. The same AI that can patch a critical infrastructure vulnerability in seconds can also be used by state-sponsored hackers to dismantle it. Recent reports of AI systems being manipulated to target financial and government entities underscore that this is already happening. The Head of Preparedness must devise strategies to lock down these capabilities without stifling the innovation that drives the industry forward.
Beyond the cold logic of code and security, the role also encompasses the messy, human side of AI adoption. Altman specifically highlighted mental health as a growing concern, referencing a “preview” of the potential psychological impacts seen in 2025. This likely alludes to the disturbing rise of “AI psychosis” and tragic instances where users, some as young as teenagers, developed unhealthy dependencies on chatbots.
The narrative has shifted from AI simply being a helpful assistant to a persuasive entity that can influence human behavior in unpredictable and potentially fatal ways. The new hire will need to navigate this ethical minefield, ensuring that as models become more persuasive, they do not manipulate vulnerable users.
The criticality of this role cannot be overstated. OpenAI is effectively admitting that its traditional safety measures are no longer sufficient for the level of intelligence its models are reaching. The “Head of Preparedness” is not just a gatekeeper; they are the architect of a safety pipeline that must hold up against non-human intelligence. It requires a rare combination of deep technical judgment and the ability to make high-stakes decisions under extreme uncertainty.
As OpenAI pushes toward general purpose artificial intelligence, the margin for error vanishes. The person who takes this seat will be responsible for ensuring that the systems we build today do not become the threats we fight tomorrow. It is a job that requires nerves of steel, a strategic mind, and the willingness to confront the darkest possibilities of our own inventions.
