About the Residency
An 8-week, fully funded residency in Cambridge for researchers & engineers working on AI security & verification. Run by ERA, in partnership with the Oxford Hardware AI Governance Lab and Heron.
The essentials
Residency — at a glance
Two Tracks: Research & Applied
Both tracks are open across the hardware and cyber areas. You can choose the one which best fits how you want to work.
Tracks — research & applied
Research track
Investigate an open question.
A well-scoped project aimed at a concrete written deliverable — a technical report, a policy-relevant analysis, or a paper draft.
Best suited to security, cryptography, hardware, and governance researchers who want to investigate an open question and produce something publishable or decision-relevant.
Applied track
Ship into a real environment.
Embedded, engineering-heavy work as a placement at one of our partner organisations, adding value to ongoing or new projects within an organisation’s existing roadmap.
Best suited to experienced security engineers, hardware specialists, ML systems builders, and operators who want to ship security projects into a real environment.
What we provide
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Hands-on Research + Engineering Support
Each resident will receive personalised research & engineering support from two key sources at ERA: dedicated research managers who provide hands-on guidance throughout the residency, and expert mentors from top security organisations, carefully matched to specific projects. We also expect to run several skill-building workshops and sessions.
This combination ensures that our residents receive both the tactical support to execute their projects and the strategic mentorship to build their long-term careers in AI safety & security. -
Networking & Learning
We deeply invest in each resident’s long-term success. You will have ample opportunity to learn both from your mentor(s) and also from your cohort of residents. Our residents will develop both the technical expertise for navigating this field, and the professional networks necessary for building strong careers & organisations in this space.
We will facilitate introductions across the security & verification ecosystem: from research institutions and policy organisations to startups and government agencies. -
Community
Our residents will be immersed in a living-learning environment in Cambridge. Each resident receives a dedicated workspace in our office (~50mins from King’s Cross) and is housed together with their cohort, enabling both focused work time and more organic collaborations.
We will also host regular social events and community activities throughout the residency to connect residents with each other, the wider Cambridge research & engineering community, and extension fellows from our concurrent programmes (www.erafellowship.org). -
Full Operational Support
We provide full operational support to our residents. Concretely, each resident will receive the equivalent of a £34,125 salary (pro rata), along with housing in Cambridge, and meals during working hours. Alongside this, we also provide full visa assistance, and cover travel expenses for international participants.
Our operations team handles all the day-to-day logistics and administrative needs, and fellows have access to tech equipment and research resources, thus allowing you to focus entirely on your projects.
Application Process
Applications for the Residency will open soon. If you'd like to be notified when they do, you can express your interest and/or sign up to our mailing list below.
If you have any questions, we recommend reading through our FAQs, and then emailing us at hello@erafellowship.org.
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The first stage of the application process primarily consists of short essay questions. Tell us about your background and how you think about the problem.
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Interview with our Research Managers
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Item description
Application — timeline
Opens ~July 2026
Applications open
~8 July 2026 Join the mailing list to be notified when they do.
Stage 1
A short written application
Due ~30 July 2026 Tell us about your background and how you think about the problem.
Stage 2
Interviews
By ~10 August 2026 Meet with ERA Research Managers for a more in-depth chat about AI security.
Stage 3
Work test
Due ~17 August 2026 Complete a short, project-scoped work test so we can assess fit and match you with the best-suited mentor(s).
Decision
Offers
~23 August 2026 Offers out to the first cohort of Frontier AI Security residents.
Who can apply?
There are no formal eligibility restrictions beyond being 18 or older, and full visa support is available. We care about demonstrated ability far more than credentials — though we expect many applicants, especially for applied placements, to bring 5+ years of operational experience.
Our residents will likely come from a range of backgrounds (professionally and globally) and will typically be at a wide variety of career stages. We think that the Frontier AI Security residency is especially (though not exclusively!) valuable for:
Mid-career & senior security professionals: offensive security and red-teaming, infrastructure and systems security, cryptography (including ZK proofs and verifiable compute), threat intelligence, incident response, etc.
Hardware & embedded specialists: chip design, embedded systems, sensors, hardware security, applied cryptography.
Researchers in security & cryptography (inc. PhDs, postdocs, etc.): computer security, applied cryptography, or adjacent areas — from academia or industry.
Professionals from adjacent fields (technical or policy) seeking to transition into frontier AI security & verification,
Strong technical generalists in AI safety, who are already engaged with AI safety and looking to specialise in security.