【AI前沿】The Zuckerbergs Are Hiring a Lifeguard but Calling It a ‘Beach Water Person’

Caroline HaskinsBusinessMay 19, 2026 10:00 AMThe Zuckerbergs Are Hiring a Lifeguard but Calling It a ‘Beach Water Person’The job, which is associated with the Zuckerberg family office, is located in Kauai, Hawaii, where the Meta CEO owns a massive compound.Photograph: Jason Henry/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyMeta CEO MarkZuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are hiring a seasonal, on-call “beach water person” based in Kauai, Hawaii, where the family owns asprawlingcompound, according to a new job listing on Greenhouse associated withWest 10, the Zuckerberg family office.This is an interesting choice for a job title, because according to the job description, the primary duties of this “beach water person” include serving as a “beach lifeguard” and “pool lifeguard.” In other words, being a lifeguard.The job listing also mentions serving as a “boat deckhand” and names a few additional duties, such as instructing “stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), canoe paddling, snorkeling, and other ocean-based activities.” These, however, come after the water safety responsibilities in the job description.Got a Tip?Got a tip? Are you a current or former employee of the Zuckerberg-Chan family? We’d like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact the reporter securely on Signal at carolinehaskins.61.This position easily could have been called “pool/beach lifeguard” or simply “lifeguard.” For the sake of comprehensiveness, “pool/beach lifeguard and boat deckhand” would have also worked. Alternatively, the Zuckerbergs could have chosen “beach/pool attendant,” a job title roughlysynonymouswith lifeguard that could reasonably be interpreted as encompassing extra duties associated with leisure, such as tending to a boat or teaching people how to paddleboard.Arguably, any of these options would have provided more clarity than “beach water person,” whichdoes not appearto correspond with a job title anywhere else in the English-speaking world.WIRED did not immediately hear back from representatives of the Zuckerberg family. Lacking a human to speak with, we decided to ask Meta’s AI chatbot, “What is a ‘beach water person’?”“Beach water person’ would just mean someone who loves being in/near the ocean,” the chatbot said. “The word for that is thalassophile—‘a person who loves the seas and oceans.’” OK!