Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
Why this Role is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
State and local policy is becoming a core operating function for SaaS companies building and deploying frontier AI, especially where product capabilities intersect with safety, education, workforce, and public sector modernization. This role stands out because it focuses on the systems and coordination that make policy engagement effective across many jurisdictions, rather than only on external advocacy.
For a SaaS career, the long-term value is the cross-functional operating model it develops. Working across legal, technical, communications, product, and partnerships functions builds fluency in how SaaS organizations translate complex product realities into governance-ready narratives and decisions. The emphasis on internal review processes, briefing materials, and stakeholder tracking maps closely to the rigor SaaS teams need as they scale risk management, compliance, and external relationships alongside product adoption.
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 Role
OpenAI is seeking a strategic, highly organized, and flexible government and public affairs professional to serve as a national manager on the U.S. State Policy and Partnerships team. In this role, you will help build and operate the internal systems, cross-functional coordination, and external engagement needed for OpenAI’s state and local policy work across the United States.
Reporting to the Head of U.S. State Policy and Partnerships, you will be a utility player for the full team: helping create structure and communication across a growing team, advancing OpenAI’s priorities with state and local governments, shepherding policy analysis through internal OpenAI processes, and representing OpenAI in external meetings, conferences, coalitions, and policy forums.
This role sits at the intersection of policy, government affairs, partnerships, communications, strategy, and operations. You will work closely with colleagues across a half-dozen OpenAI organizations to ensure state engagement is coordinated, well-informed, and grounded in OpenAI’s mission.
In This Role, You Will
Help drive the operations of the U.S. State Policy and Partnerships team, including planning rhythms, team communications, trackers, briefings, and meeting cadences.
Support execution of OpenAI’s state and local policy strategy across all 50 states with a particular focus on high-priority jurisdictions.
Help drive the operations of the U.S. State Policy and Partnerships team, including planning rhythms, team communications, trackers, briefings, and meeting cadences.
Work across OpenAI teams to advance state-level priorities related to AI policy, kids safety, guardrails for advanced AI models, workforce, education, infrastructure, economic opportunity, government modernization, and other issues.
Track legislative, regulatory, political, and stakeholder developments across states and help the team anticipate risks and opportunities.
Shepherd policy analysis, legislative reviews, briefing materials, talking points, and strategic recommendations through OpenAI’s internal review and approval processes.
Translate complex technical, legal, and policy issues into clear, accessible materials for policymakers, internal leaders, and external stakeholders.
Help prepare OpenAI leaders for engagements with governors, state legislators, mayors, attorneys general, agency leaders, community organizations, universities, workforce partners, and other stakeholders.
Represent OpenAI in external meetings, conferences, coalitions, and other forums.
Identify opportunities for OpenAI to build trusted relationships and demonstrate the practical benefits of AI through public-private partnerships, community engagement, and state and local initiatives.
Coordinate with consultants, trade associations, coalitions, and external partners as needed.
Handle sensitive matters with discretion, sound judgment, and high integrity.
You Might Thrive In This Role If You
Have 5-10 years of experience in several of these areas: public policy (especially tech policy), government (especially legislative or executive work), government affairs, political campaigns, public affairs campaigns, public sector consulting, or a related field.
Understand state and local government, including governors’ offices, legislatures, agencies, mayors, attorneys general, and intergovernmental organizations.
Are an exceptional organizer who can bring structure to ambiguity without slowing down fast-moving work.
Can manage multiple projects, deadlines, and stakeholders while staying calm, precise, and accountable.
Are a strong writer and communicator who can turn complex policy and technical issues into clear analyses and recommendations.
Have strong political instincts and can navigate sensitive policy, stakeholder, and internal dynamics with judgment.
Are comfortable working across legal, technical, policy, communications, product, and partnership teams.
Are flexible enough to move from policy analysis to team operations to external representation in the same day.
Have a bias toward action, a collaborative style, and a high bar for integrity.
Are willing to represent the company (and occasionally travel) for meetings, conferences, and state-level engagements.
Nice To Have
Experience with AI policy and public affairs, online safety, infrastructure, workforce, education, or economic development work.
Experience working with governors, state legislators, attorneys general, mayors, or national state associations such as NGA, NCSL, CSG, RGA, DGA, or state attorney general organizations.
Experience managing consultants, coalitions, or multi-state campaigns.
Experience building internal systems for a growing policy, campaigns, or government affairs team.
Prior work in a fast-moving technology company, public affairs firm, campaign, legislature, governor’s office, agency, or advocacy organization.
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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