Senior Director for Government Affairs

Microsoft•Washington, DC

16h

About The Position

The Senior Director for Government Affairs will lead Microsoft’s integrated U.S. policy strategy across digital safety and intellectual property, including AI fraud and consumer protection, children’s online safety, and policy matters affecting the XBOX video game business. The role sets priorities, anticipates policy and business risks, and leads advocacy to support innovation, protect people, and advance business objectives. It requires strategic judgment and accountability for outcomes across a complex portfolio. The Senior Director serves as a trusted adviser to senior executives, translating legislative and regulatory developments into business implications, trade-offs, and recommendations. The role represents Microsoft with policymakers and coalition partners, aligns stakeholders across the company through influence, and works with federal, state, global, and specialist teams to advance workable policy and regulatory outcomes. It also coordinates litigation-related policy with internal legal teams. The portfolio includes advocacy on AI fraud and consumer protection; federal digital safety policy, including child safety, AI companions and chatbots, age-appropriate design, safety by design, and platform responsibility; gaming policy with XBOX and associated teams; and intellectual property and innovation policy, including copyright, patents, fair use, lawful AI data access, digital replicas, and USPTO rulemaking. The role builds senior-level external relationships, convenes coalitions, aligns internal teams, and coordinates external engagements, convenings, and industry reports.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, Political Science, Business Administration, Technology, Law, Liberal Arts, Engineering, or a related field, and 6+ years of work experience leading complex U.S. legislative and regulatory campaigns, including setting strategy, coordinating federal and state engagement, and delivering policy outcomes; or equivalent experience.
Strategic judgment translating complex legal, technical, and product issues into business implications, clear priorities, and actionable executive advice.
Experience building trusted policymaker relationships, leading coalitions, and aligning cross-company stakeholders around shared outcomes without relying on direct authority.
Executive communication and external representation skills, sound judgment with confidential information, and a record of adapting strategy and holding advocacy efforts accountable for results.

Nice To Haves

Depth in one or more of these areas: AI fraud and consumer protection, digital or child safety, gaming, or intellectual property policy, with the ability to lead an integrated agenda across related issues.
Experience shaping bipartisan legislative strategies, model language, or regulatory submissions in partnership with legal, technical, product, and communications leaders.
Experience leading trade association engagement, multi-stakeholder initiatives, or voluntary industry commitments, including governance, implementation evidence, and impact assessment.

Responsibilities

Own an integrated U.S. strategy across the portfolios, setting priorities and aligning legislative, regulatory, executive-branch, and association engagement.
Anticipate policy and business risks, direct analysis and policy development, and align advocacy with Congressional Affairs and state teams.
Advise executives on choices and trade-offs through concise briefings, testimony support, and decision materials.
Establish shared objectives and measures of progress, adapt strategy as conditions change, and remain accountable for advocacy results.
Lead U.S. advocacy for targeted, bipartisan, bicameral policy addressing fraudulent digital impersonation.
Shape cross-industry AI fraud governance and drive implementation across prevention, cooperation, resilience, and awareness.
Build coalitions with consumer advocates, financial services, labor, law enforcement, and civil society, establishing clear cross-team ownership.
Shape U.S. policy priorities for federal child safety, focusing on AI companions and chatbots, age-appropriate design, safety by design, and platform responsibility.
Lead advocacy for safe participation and risk-based safeguards that also protect privacy and expression.
Partner with Microsoft digital safety, privacy, AI, Gaming, LinkedIn, and GitHub teams to advance frameworks and advocacy strategies.
Shape U.S. gaming policy strategy in partnership with XBOX, legal, communications, state, safety, and trade teams.
Align gaming priorities and evidence-based advocacy on child safety, age assurance, gaming tax incentives, and console tariffs consistent with broader trade objectives.
Advise leaders on gaming policy business implications and resolve cross-portfolio tensions through influence.
Guide Entertainment Software Association strategy and represent Microsoft in government affairs and industry engagement as designated.
Coordinate U.S. IP policy advocacy on copyright and patent matters, including fair use, lawful AI data access, digital replicas, and USPTO rulemaking and policies.
Align legislative, executive-branch, coalition, and litigation-policy strategies with subject-matter experts.
Apply business and policy judgment to priorities and trade-offs to support a healthy IP ecosystem.
Build trusted senior-level relationships with policymakers, industry associations, civil society, and other stakeholders.
Represent Microsoft in consequential policy discussions and convene coalitions around shared outcomes.
Lead alignment across business, legal, product, engineering, policy, and communications teams, reconciling competing priorities through influence.
Use research, implementation evidence, and stakeholder feedback to strengthen advocacy, assess impact, and advise executives on emerging opportunities and risks.
Coordinate external engagements, convenings, and industry reports to shape policy conversations in dynamic regulatory and political environments.