LinkedIn says AI safety roles have grown 91% in the past year

• LinkedIn CEO Daniel Shapero said that while hiring is largely frozen, certain roles are increasing.
• AI safety roles have grown 91% in the last year, according to new LinkedIn research.
• Security incidents have highlighted a need to ensure AI systems operate securely and ethically.

AI safety jobs are one bright spot in a stagnant job market.

At LinkedIn's Talent Connect conference on Tuesday, CEO Daniel Shapero said that while hiring has largely "frozen," some roles and industries are still growing. LinkedIn research released Tuesday found that AI safety roles are one of the pockets of growth, rising 91% over the past year.

It's a timely topic, given recent high-profile security incidents and ongoing bipartisan AI safety talks.

"AI safety is something a lot of people are talking about," CEO Daniel Shapero said at the conference.

The field centers on making sure AI systems operate safely and ethically. Jobs can range from technical research and risk mitigation to policy work and the integration of safety frameworks into AI products.

These jobs often come with sizable paychecks. Data scientists on OpenAI's Safety team can earn up to $325,000 a year, while Anthropic lists compensation of up to $285,000 for a safeguards enforcement analyst focused on child safety.

Google is also hiring for safety-related roles, including a policy strategist for kids and families that pays up to $239,000, plus a 20% target bonus and equity. A program manager on Meta's Integrity GRC team can earn up to $209,000, in addition to a bonus and equity.

Shapero's comments about opportunities in AI safety come amid growing concerns about security risks.

In April, Anthropic warned about its Mythos model's vulnerability and exploitation capabilities, and in July, OpenAI models were found accessing internal Hugging Face datasets. More recently, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon sparked a viral debate after resigning from the company, following his claim that frontier labs are "gambling with our lives."

As AI transforms the labor market, demand for other new and specialized roles is also rising. Since 2023, the technology has generated nearly 2 million new jobs, with rapid growth in positions this past year, including in forward-deployed AI experts, which are up 226%, and AI forensic analysts, which have risen 169%, according to LinkedIn's research.

Cybersecurity roles are also expected to grow. Box CEO Aaron Levie recently told Business Insider that AI could make cybersecurity "one of the hottest, if not the hottest, job categories."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has forecasted that roles such as information security analysts, a central title in the field, will grow by 21% between 2025 and 2035.