Principal Virologist, Responsible Development and Innovation, DeepMind

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X The application window will be open until at least August 28, 2026. This opportunity will remain online based on business needs which may be before or after the specified date.

In accordance with Washington state law, we are highlighting our comprehensive benefits package, which is available to all eligible US based employees. Benefits for this role include:

• Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
• Sick Time: 40 hours/year (increased to 69 hours/year for Seattle) including 5 discretionary sick days per instance
• Maternity Leave (Short-Term Disability Baby Bonding): 28-30 weeks
• Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
• Holidays: 13 paid days per year

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Mountain View, CA, USA; Boulder, CO, USA; Cambridge, MA, USA; Kirkland, WA, USA; New York, NY, USA; Washington D.C., DC, USA .

Minimum qualifications:

• PhD in Virology or equivalent practical experience in post-doctoral, clinical, or industry experience.
• 15 years of experience working with high-consequence biological pathogens within a national security, defense, or biosecurity context.
• Experience translating scientific or threat data into summaries for senior leadership and non-technical decision-makers.
• Experience in wet-lab virology, working within BSL-3 or high-containment BSL-2 environments.
• Experience analyzing the challenges of dual-use research of concern (DURC), biological weapons frameworks, and the global stakeholder landscape.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience designing novel science evaluations, red-teaming protocols, or threat-modeling frameworks for emerging technologies.
• Experience utilizing or evaluating Large Language Models (LLMs) or biological foundation models.
• Comfort with technical infrastructure, command-line tools, or basic coding elements to interface effectively with AI research engineers.
• Active engagement with ongoing national security or international biosecurity working groups.
• Interest in AI safety frameworks, tech policy, and the ethics of frontier technologies.

About the job

Artificial intelligence will be one of humanity's most transformative inventions. At Google DeepMind, we are a pioneering AI lab with exceptional interdisciplinary teams focused on advancing AI development to solve complex global challenges and accelerate high-quality product innovation for billions of users. We use our technologies for widespread public benefit and scientific discovery, ensuring safety and ethics are always our highest priority.

We are pushing the boundaries across multiple domains. Our global teams offer diverse learning opportunities and varied career pathways for those driven to achieve exceptional results through collective effort.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $307000 - $427000 (USD) 30% bonus target equity benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google .

Responsibilities

• Synthesize, "roll up," and clearly communicate complex technical risk data to senior stakeholders, C-suite executives, and policy leaders with clarity and authority.
• Integrate ongoing scientific community insights regarding biological pathogens to ensure our safety frameworks reflect real-world threat vectors.
• Shape Google DeepMind's broader biosecurity mitigation strategies, ensuring safety guardrails protect against genuine misuse without bottlenecking legitimate scientific innovation.
• Partner closely with Research Scientists, Engineers, and ethics experts to embed biosecurity protocols directly into the model development lifecycle.
• Refine and directly execute advanced biology evaluations to pressure-test frontier AI models against biological threats.

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Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy , Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal , Belonging at Google , and How we hire .

If you have a need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form .

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.

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Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.