Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
This role stands out in the SaaS ecosystem because it sits at the intersection of product deployment and public policy, where regulatory expectations increasingly shape how AI-enabled software is built, sold, and used. With OpenAI operating as an AI research and deployment organization, the position reflects a maturing phase of the market in which government engagement becomes a core capability alongside engineering and go to market execution.
For SaaS professionals, the long-term career value comes from learning how external constraints translate into internal decisions. Tracking executive actions, preparing briefs, and coordinating with legal, technical, and communications partners builds a repeatable skill set for navigating compliance, platform risk, and market access. That experience transfers across SaaS categories, particularly in sectors where procurement, safety, and data governance influence product strategy.
The role is best suited to someone who prefers structured stakeholder work and can operate as an accountable individual contributor while aligning many internal viewpoints into a coherent position. It will appeal to professionals who enjoy translating complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences and who want their SaaS career to include policy fluency, coalition building, and executive branch engagement.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
About the Team
OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. We believe that achieving our goal requires effective engagement with public policy stakeholders and the broader community impacted by AI. Accordingly, our Global Affairs team builds authentic, collaborative relationships with public officials and the broader AI policymaking community to inform and support our shared work in these domains. We ensure that insights from policymakers inform our work and - in collaboration with our colleagues and external stakeholders - seek to shape policy so that it aligns with and supports our mission.
About the Role
As a U.S. Federal Affairs Lead, you will be part of OpenAI’s Global Affairs team and will help develop strategies and advance OpenAI’s engagement with the U.S. federal government. You will focus on engagement with the White House, executive branch agencies, and relevant third party groups, helping to shape policy discussions and regulatory frameworks that impact AI development and deployment. You will support OpenAI’s leadership in meetings, briefings, and other engagements and will be responsible for tracking and analyzing executive actions and federal regulatory developments.
Key responsibilities include:
Assist in the development and implementation of a comprehensive federal government engagement strategy focused on artificial intelligence policy and regulation.
Build and maintain strong relationships with key decision-makers within the White House, the Executive Office of the President, and federal agencies.
Represent OpenAI in meetings with administration officials, policymakers, and other stakeholders on behalf of OpenAI.
Track and analyze federal executive actions and regulatory developments impacting AI.
Collaborate with internal teams, including legal, technical teams, research, and communications, to prepare policy briefs, position papers, and responses to government inquiries on AI-related issues.
Engage with industry associations, think tanks, and advocacy groups to build coalitions and advance OpenAI’s policy objectives.
At OpenAI, everyone chips in; no task is too big or too small for any member of the team.
This role is based in Washington, D.C., and may require frequent travel to participate in meetings and events with key stakeholders. We offer relocation assistance to new employees.
You should thrive in this role if you:
Are well versed in the issues around emerging AI technologies, especially in the U.S. federal executive branch context.
Are an enthusiastic and effective coalition builder who thrives as a member of a high performing, peer-led global team.
Are highly organized, and are used to working as an accountable individual contributor as well as a team player.
Are passionate about the promise of technology and the future of artificial intelligence but thoughtful about its potential risks.
We're looking for a blend of:
Demonstrated experience (8+ years) and credibility in working with the U.S. federal government, particularly the executive branch and federal agencies.
Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the U.S. government, institutions, and processes, and the key policy issues and debates related to AI.
Extensive experience in technology policy
Experience with the administrative process, including but not limited to responding to agency requests for information.
Track record of effectively working with cross-functional teams, especially communications, policy and legal teams, and aligning a diverse range of internal and external partners
Sound judgment and outstanding personal integrity
Ability to execute in fast and flexible environments through rapid cycles of analysis, decision, and action
Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to convey complex technical and policy concepts to diverse audiences
Strong strategic thinking, problem-solving, and project management skills
Genuine care and knowledge about the impact of technology on society
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
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We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.
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At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.
