Summary
At the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), our team of cyber experts work to understand and evaluate the cyber offense capabilities of AI models, working closely with AI developers and the US national security community to prepare for increasing capabilities in this critical domain. This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.
Duties
In this position, you will: Integrate national security context into CAISI's assessments of AI cyber capabilities, mapping offensive tradecraft-from vulnerability research to exploit development-to real-world adversarial tactics. Develop strategic roadmaps for evaluation, ensuring that AI assessment scenarios reflect high-priority cyber threats to national security interests and critical infrastructure. Translate complex evaluation results into mission-focused assessments and risk briefings for senior interagency leadership and national security stakeholders. Bridge the gap between emerging AI research and established offensive cyber tradecraft to ensure evaluations remain operationally relevant to the US Government. Strengthen the U.S. security posture by providing a high-quality technical evidence base that informs federal defensive and offensive cyber strategies. Coordinate with interagency partners to align assessments with federal cyber requirements and validate that frontier AI systems are measured against realistic cyber targets. Safeguard national interests by ensuring frontier AI models are rigorously evaluated against relevant cyber assets and national security benchmarks.
Education
This position has an education requirement. Transcripts must be submitted to validate that the education requirement has been met. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. However, an official copy will be required before a final offer of employment. Use of foreign education for qualifications. An accredited organization must evaluate education completed outside of the U.S. to ensure that it is comparable to education received in accredited institutions in the U.S. Click here to view a listing of accredited organizations from the Department of Education's website. A copy of the foreign education evaluation (containing the results with course-by-course listing) is required with your application.
How you will be evaluated
Please prepare a resume that is no longer than two pages; only the first two pages will be considered during the review process. Ensure your font is 11 points or larger and upload your resume as a .pdf document. This helps ensure your formatting looks exactly the way you intended. How you will be evaluated: You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Once the announcement has closed, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed in this announcement. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) may be used to review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two (2) pages of your resume. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume. Applications will be assessed on the following competencies: Information Systems/Network Security Reasoning Strategic Thinking Technical Credibility Referral: All applicants may be referred to the selecting official for consideration. Under Direct Hire Authority, applicants are not rated and ranked, and veteran preference does not apply. CTAP or ICTAP eligibility: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP), you must be determined eligible and rated as well-qualified to receive special selection priority. "Well Qualified" means that in addition to meeting the minimum qualification requirements and selective placement factor(s), if applicable, you must receive a score of 85 or higher. Please review the following site regarding required documents to support CTAP or ICTAP eligibility and additional information regarding this authority - CTAP/ICTAP Eligibility