OpenAI Offers Rs 5 Crore For 'Stressful' AI Safety Role — Check Key Details
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said it was a "critical role" that comes at an important time for the company.

Wish to work for OpenAI? The ChatGPT creator is looking to hire for the 'Head of Preparedness' role that is aimed at reducing the risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Based in San Francisco, the role comes with a listed annual salary of $555,000 (nearly Rs 5 crore), plus equity.
In a post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said it was a "critical role" that comes at an important time for the company. As AI models are showing significant improvements and capable of doing "many great things," he said, they have "also starting to present some real challenges."
"The potential impact of models on mental health was something we saw a preview of in 2025; we are just now seeing models get so good at computer security they are beginning to find critical vulnerabilities," Altman wrote.
Altman believes we are entering a world where there is need for "more nuanced understanding and measurement of how those capabilities could be abused, and how we can limit those downsides both in our products and in the world, in a way that lets us all enjoy the tremendous benefits."
Altman suggested that it will be a "stressful" role as the one selected will "jump into the deep end pretty much immediately."
We are hiring a Head of Preparedness. This is a critical role at an important time; models are improving quickly and are now capable of many great things, but they are also starting to present some real challenges. The potential impact of models on mental health was something weâ¦
— Sam Altman (@sama) December 27, 2025
The latest job listing by OpenAI comes at a time when the company faces multiple lawsuits alleging the role of ChatGPT in encouraging users to commit murder and die by suicide.
In a blog post, OpenAI said that the Head of Preparedness will hold the responsibility of putting its preparedness framework into action and lead the technical strategy. This job profile is part of the broader Safety Systems.
"You will be the directly responsible leader for building and coordinating capability evaluations, threat models, and mitigations that form a coherent, rigorous, and operationally scalable safety pipeline," it said.
Those planning to apply must have deep technical judgment, clear communication as well as the ability to guide complex work across multiple risk domains. The Head of Preparedness gets to lead a small team to drive core Preparedness research.
Among the core responsibilities mentioned in the job description, some include building capability evaluations, establishing threat models and ensuring they are precise for rapid product cycles.
The person selected for the role will oversee mitigation design across various risk areas and ensure safeguards are technically sound and effective. The official will refine and evolve the preparedness framework keeping in view the emerging risks, capabilities, or external expectations.
Also, the person will "collaborate cross-functionally with research, engineering, product teams, policy monitoring and enforcement teams, governance, and external partners to integrate preparedness into real-world deployment," the company noted.
As per TechCrunch, OpenAI first announced the creation of its preparedness team in 2023. In less than a year, it reassigned Head of Preparedness Aleksander Madry to a role focused more on AI reasoning.
