Summer Intern

Summary

Join Open Philanthropy's summer internship program (June-August 2025) and contribute to impactful research across Global Health and Wellbeing, Global Catastrophic Risks, and Farm Animal Welfare teams. The internship is open to Master's and PhD students, those starting such programs in 2025, or candidates with externship/secondment opportunities. Interns will conduct research, collaborate with team members, and present findings. The program offers two tracks: Research (focused on core research) and Strategy (including non-research projects). Open Philanthropy is committed to diversity and inclusion and offers a remote work environment with competitive compensation.

Requirements

• Be currently enrolled in or have completed a Master's or PhD program
• Be a candidate who will begin a Master's or PhD program in 2025
• Be a candidate working for an organization that offers externship/secondment opportunities

Responsibilities

• Conduct research to assess potential cause areas, evaluate programs, and inform overall strategy
• Collaborate with team members and present findings in team meetings
• Talk to global experts, review reports and academic papers, and work with potential grantees to evaluate whether a potential cause area is important, neglected, and tractable
• Create back-of-the-envelope calculations to estimate the social returns and cost-effectiveness of potential grants
• Manage time between gathering new information and synthesizing it into concrete recommendations

Preferred Qualifications

• [For the Research track] Have a background in analytical research (including, but not limited to, having or working towards a Master's or PhD)
• [For the Strategy track] Have a background in consulting, policy, or similar strategic experience, or have worked on projects that required strategic thinking
• For GHW: Have a background in quantitative social science, global/public health, medical sciences, or a related field
• For GHW: Have some familiarity with quantitative approaches and methods, and experience in topics that are core to the GHW approach, such as economic development/growth, public health, or scientific research
• For GCR: Have a background in quantitative social science, computer science, or another field relevant to Global Catastrophic Risks
• For GCR: Be interested and informed about Global Catastrophic Risks, especially AI safety
• For FAW: Have a background in quantitative social science or a related field
• For FAW: Have some familiarity with quantitative approaches and methods, and experience in topics relevant to FAW such as agriculture, social change, government policy, alternative proteins, or retail/food service markets
• For FAW: Have a strong quantitative skill set, including the ability to incorporate uncertainty into your quantitative models
• For FAW: Be comfortable performing “back-of-the-envelope calculations” in domains with sparse data, e.g., to estimate the social returns and cost-effectiveness of potential grants
• Be excited about working in a fast-paced research environment that covers a wide range of potential research topics
• Exhibit good epistemic judgment, including a willingness to update on new information and a commitment to reasoning transparency
• Have strong written and verbal communication skills and can convey key information with the appropriate level of uncertainty
• Be independent, organized, and self-motivated
• Put our mission first, and act with urgency to help us realize our ambitious goals for impact
• Work to model our operating values of ownership, openness, calibration, and inclusiveness

Benefits

• Compensation: $2,100 per week, based on our entry-level researcher salary
• Remote work
• Open Philanthropy will pay for flights and temporary lodging during Togetherness Week in San Francisco
• OPT/CPT sponsorship consideration (with caveats)