Director, AI Strategy – Mental Health

The Jed Foundation (JED)

. Maintain a sophisticated understanding of developments in AI technology and assess implications for mental health and suicide prevention .

Posted 10/15/2026full-timeRemote • New York • United StatesLead💰 $120,000 - $160,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Maintain a sophisticated understanding of developments in AI technology and assess implications for mental health and suicide prevention
Advance JED’s work in AI safety, evaluation, benchmarking, standards, and related field-building efforts
Work with technology, research, mental-health, suicide-prevention, and public-interest partners to bring relevant priorities into evaluation frameworks, scenarios, constructs, measures, and other approaches
Apply knowledge of model and system behavior, safety evaluations, red-teaming, safeguards and mitigations, failure modes, and evaluation methodology to identify strengths and gaps
Advance approaches addressing acute safety failures as well as relationships and dependency, connection and belonging, agency, coping, help-seeking, protective factors, developmental differences, and beneficial uses of AI
Manage technology-company advising work, assessing AI products, features, and safety approaches and developing actionable recommendations
Develop JED positions, frameworks, principles, recommendations, and guidance on AI and emerging technology
Identify emerging issues, evidence gaps, and opportunities for JED engagement
Build and manage relationships across technology companies, AI safety and evaluation organizations, academic and independent research institutions, public-interest organizations, philanthropy, and mental-health and suicide-prevention organizations
Collaborate with JED’s Knowledge & Advising, Policy, Programs, MarComms, and other teams
Represent JED in collaborations, working groups, expert processes, convenings, and external forums
Contribute to new initiatives, partnerships, proposals, and funding opportunities
Report to the SVP, Youth Strategies & Chief Engagement Officer

Requirements

What you’ll need

Approximately 7+ years of relevant professional experience, including substantial work in AI, AI safety, responsible AI, AI evaluation, human-AI interaction, or a closely related field
Exceptional candidates with a different career trajectory but equivalent depth of experience will be considered
Strong working knowledge of contemporary AI technologies, including generative AI, large language models, multimodal systems, conversational AI, agents, memory/personalization, and emerging human-AI interfaces
Demonstrated knowledge of AI safety and evaluation, including model and system behavior, evaluation and benchmarking, red-teaming, failure modes, safeguards and mitigations, and the strengths and limitations of current approaches
Experience applying technology, safety, evaluation, research, or related expertise in a high-stakes human domain such as mental health, suicide prevention, healthcare, public health, child and adolescent wellbeing or safety, child protection, online safety, violence prevention, or another closely related area
Working knowledge of mental health, suicide prevention, behavioral health, public health, or an adjacent field sufficient to engage meaningfully with domain experts and understand the implications of AI systems for people experiencing distress or vulnerability
Technical fluency sufficient to engage credibly and independently with AI researchers, engineers, evaluation and safety teams, and product teams; this role does not require the candidate to be an ML engineer
Demonstrated ability to connect technical developments to implications for human behavior, safety, wellbeing, products, institutions, or society
Excellent analytical, synthesis, writing, and communication skills, with experience developing frameworks, strategy, recommendations, guidance, or thought leadership
Strong judgment and comfort working across technical and nontechnical disciplines
Experience advancing complex work involving multiple internal and external stakeholders, with strong relationship-building and collaboration skills
Direct experience in mental health, suicide prevention, behavioral health, digital mental health, or a closely related field is strongly preferred
Experience focused on children, adolescents, families, development, or populations experiencing heightened vulnerability is strongly preferred
Experience working directly with technology-company product, safety, evaluation, or research teams is strongly preferred
Experience developing or applying benchmarks, evaluations, safety frameworks, standards, or red-teaming approaches is strongly preferred
Experience translating technical research for public-interest, product, policy, practitioner, or other nontechnical audiences is strongly preferred
An advanced degree may be valuable but is not required