US External Affairs Manager, Global Affairs

OpenAI•Washington, DC

11h•$171,000 - $280,000•Onsite

About The Position

The U.S. External Affairs Manager leads a portfolio spanning civil rights partnerships and federal AI policy, working with team leads to shape and advance OpenAI’s engagement with civil rights organizations, civil society groups, researchers, community-based organizations, and federal policymakers. The role combines independent strategic ownership, policy judgment, and external representation to help shape the AI policy debate in the United States. The position supports the team’s partnership and outreach operating model by identifying priority stakeholders, designing engagement strategies, and building external relationships and feedback loops. The work emphasizes co-design, listening, product and policy learning, and developing concrete proof points that can strengthen public trust. Reporting to the External Affairs Lead, the manager works across the U.S. Policy and Partnerships team and coordinates closely with State and Local Policy, Federal Affairs, Communications, Safety, Legal, Product, and Research. Responsibilities may include representing OpenAI at convenings, designing stakeholder strategies around emerging policy issues, organizing partner briefings, preparing product and policy explainers, supporting local proof-point campaigns, coordinating quarterly partner reviews, and translating civil society feedback into actionable internal insights. The role is based in Washington, DC and may require frequent travel to meet key stakeholders. Relocation assistance is offered to new employees.

Requirements

Established network and credibility with civil society, civil rights, research, community, and other stakeholder organizations, including groups representing underrepresented communities.
Deep experience in technology policy, public policy, public affairs, civil society engagement, advocacy, campaigns, or a related field.
Strong understanding of federal, state, and local policy institutions, processes, and debates shaping AI governance in the United States.
Demonstrated ability to design and execute stakeholder engagement strategies tied to concrete policy, partnership, or public trust objectives.
Excellent communication, presentation, briefing, and interpersonal skills, including the ability to explain complex technical and policy concepts to diverse audiences.
Strong project management skills, including managing shared resources, timelines, follow-ups, and cross-functional workstreams.
Sound judgment, high integrity, and the ability to operate thoughtfully on sensitive or high-salience issues.
Proven ability to work with cross-functional teams, especially policy, communications, legal, safety, product, research, and technical teams.
Genuine care for technology’s impact on society and demonstrated ability to listen carefully to external concerns.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead federal AI policy initiatives within the portfolio in partnership with Federal Affairs, connecting civil society priorities, community feedback, and practical use cases to OpenAI’s policy positions and advocacy.
Build and maintain trusted relationships with civil rights, civil society, research, community, education, accessibility, and other stakeholder organizations relevant to OpenAI’s U.S. policy priorities.
Help execute a repeatable engagement operating model grounded in co-design, localized benefits, trusted validators, cross-functional planning, and regular partner reviews.
Develop stakeholder maps, engagement plans, briefing materials, and follow-up systems for priority policy campaigns and rapid-response moments.
Support federal and state engagement strategies by identifying credible third-party voices, local proof points, and community feedback that can inform policy positions and advocacy.
Represent OpenAI in senior-level policy discussions and external convenings, and prepare executives and subject-matter experts for meetings, roundtables, and public events in coordination with Federal Affairs and relevant internal leads.
Translate complex AI product, safety, and policy topics into clear materials for external audiences, including standing content packs and deeper product briefings for technology policy stakeholders.
Surface external concerns and opportunities related to data and trust, deepfakes, child safety, job displacement, energy costs, copyright, civil and human rights, mental health, and other areas of public concern.
Coordinate with Global Affairs, Communications, Legal, Safety, Product, Research, and other internal teams to ensure stakeholder engagement is accurate, thoughtful, and useful to the business.
Track relationship health, engagement outcomes, commitments, risks, and follow-ups to support accountability and continuity.