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 Heron and the Oxford Hardware AI Governance Lab.
Overview
Residency Essentials
Two Tracks: Research & Applied
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.
Programme Structure
Hands-on Research + Engineering Support
Each resident will receive personalised research & engineering support. Dedicated research managers will provide hands-on guidance throughout the residency, and expert mentors from top security organisations have been carefully paired with specific projects. We also expect to run several workshops and talks with guest speakers.
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 Cambridge office (~50mins from King’s Cross, London) and is housed together with their cohort, enabling both focused work time and more organic collaborations.
We will also host regular social events throughout the residency to connect residents with each other, the wider Cambridge research & engineering community, and extension residents from our concurrent programmes.
Full Operational Support
We provide full operational support to our residents, the equivalent of a £34,125 salary (pro rata), 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 will handle the day-to-day logistics and any administrative needs. In addition, residents have access to tech equipment and research resources, thus allowing you to focus entirely on your projects.
Application Process
Applications for the residency closed on August 2nd. Sign up to our mailing list below to hear about future cycles.
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 about your background and interests (and should take you about 1 hour). Written Applications for the Autumn ‘26 cycle closed 2 August.
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Meet with ERA Research Managers for a more in-depth chat about AI security.
These will happen around the 6th - 13th August 2026.
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Complete a short, project-scoped work test so we can assess fit and match you with the best-suited mentor(s).
These will happen around 17 - 26 August 2026.
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Offers will be sent out to the first cohort of Frontier AI Security residents at the end of August.
System Entry & Requirements
Who can apply?
There are no formal eligibility restrictions beyond being 18 or older, and full visa support is available globally.
We care about demonstrated ability far more than credentials — though we expect many applicants, especially for applied placements, to bring 5+ years of industry experience.
Our residents come from a range of professional and global backgrounds, operating across diverse career stages. We consider this residency especially valuable for the following profiles:
01 Mid-Career & Senior Security Professionals
Expertise across offensive security, red-teaming, infrastructure and systems security, cryptography (including ZK proofs and verifiable compute), threat intelligence, and incident response.
02 Hardware & Embedded Specialists
Core focus areas across chip design, advanced accelerators, embedded systems, sensors, silicon security architectures, and applied cryptography.
03 Security & Cryptography Researchers
PhDs, postdocs, and advanced researchers specializing in computer security, applied cryptography, or adjacent technical spaces across industry or academia.
04 Transitional Professionals
Talent from adjacent technical domains or advanced policy structures seeking to explicitly pivot their capabilities into frontier AI security & system verification.
05 Strong Technical Generalists in AI Safety
Engineers and researchers already systematically engaged with technical AI safety paradigms who are looking to deeply specialize in security defenses.