Scientific Proposal Writer

About Basis

Basis is a nonprofit applied AI research organization with two mutually reinforcing goals.

The first is to understand and build intelligence. This means to establish the mathematical principles of what it means to reason, to learn, to make decisions, to understand, and to explain; and to construct software that implements these principles.

The second is to advance society’s ability to solve intractable problems. This means expanding the scale, complexity, and breadth of problems that we can solve today, and even more importantly, accelerating our ability to solve problems in the future.

To achieve these goals, we’re building both a new technological foundation that draws inspiration from how humans reason, and a new kind of collaborative organization that puts human values first.

About the Role

At Basis, our Scientific/Technical Writers play a pivotal role in communicating our research and ideas to a diverse audience, including researchers, funders, and the general public. This role involves close collaboration with our research scientists to develop compelling grant proposals, articulate project specifications, and create engaging blog posts and social media content.

Key Qualifications:

• Exceptional writing skills: Ability to produce clear, concise, and compelling content.

• Grant writing and editing experience of at least three years. Experience in writing successful scientific grants is highly valued, particularly for the NSF, DARPA, and/or NIH.

• PhD (or equivalent experience) in a technical area, including statistics, programming languages, machine learning, computational neuroscience, cognitive science, physics, or mathematics.

• Technical proficiency: A solid foundation in technical or mathematical concepts, with a keen interest in and capacity to understand Basis' core technical research areas, such as probabilistic programming, causal inference, collaborative intelligent systems, and program synthesis.

• Versatile communication: Skilled in synthesizing complex information for various audiences. Able to adapt writing style to suit different modes – from rapid, urgent communication to methodical, long-term projects.

• Collaborative spirit: Comfortable working closely with research teams, understanding their work, and effectively translating it into written form.

• Passion for AI and its impact: Ideally, candidates will have a genuine interest in AI, its societal implications, and Basis’ mission.

What We Offer:

• An opportunity to be at the forefront of AI research and its applications.

• A collaborative and supportive work environment.

• Engagement with complex, meaningful problems with societal impact.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with research teams to develop and write grant proposals.

• Create detailed project specification documents and reports.

• Craft engaging and informative blog posts, social media content, and other communication materials.

• Translate complex technical and research concepts into accessible language for diverse audiences.

• Contribute to Basis’ overarching mission and goals through effective storytelling and communication.

Role Details

Exceptional candidates who may not meet all of the following criteria are still encouraged to apply.

• FT/PT: This is potentially a full-time or part-time position

• Hours: While we prioritize in-person collaboration for its benefits to creative work, there is a degree of flexibility in your working hours. Expect to be available during certain set times each week for meetings, and be prepared to attend multi-day Basis-wide in-person events.

• Location: This role is ideally in-person in either New York City or Boston, but we will consider hybrid/remote candidates.

• Salary range: Competitive salary and benefits.

Application Components

Please submit the following attachments (pdfs preferred):

• Your CV or resume.

• A cover letter briefly describing your relevant experience.

• 3-5 writing samples. These can be grant proposals or other forms of technical writing.

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