US External Affairs Associate, Global Affairs

OpenAI's mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. The U.S. Policy and Partnerships team sits within Global Affairs and helps translate that mission into trusted, practical engagement with civil society, community leaders, researchers, and other external stakeholders across the United States.

As U.S. External Affairs Associate, you will work with the team leads to help advance OpenAI's engagement with civil rights organizations, civil society groups, researchers, community-based organizations, and other external stakeholders shaping the AI policy debate in the United States.

This role is central to the team's partnership and outreach operating model. You will help identify priority stakeholders, design engagement strategies, and build the external relationships and feedback loops. The work is not about one-way education; it is about co-design, listening, product and policy learning, and creating concrete proof points that can strengthen public trust.

Reporting to the External Affairs Lead, you will work across the U.S. Policy and Partnerships team and in close coordination with State and Local Policy, Federal Affairs, Communications, Safety, Legal, Product, and Research. OpenAI is evolving quickly as we release new research, products, and tools. Day-to-day work may include representing OpenAI at convenings, designing a stakeholder strategy around a fast-moving policy issue, organizing partner briefings, preparing product and policy explainers, supporting local proof-point campaigns, coordinating quarterly partner reviews, or translating feedback from civil society into actionable insights for internal teams.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with civil rights, civil society, research, community, labor, 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.
• Prepare OpenAI executives and subject-matter experts for external meetings, convenings, roundtables, and public events.
• 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 closely 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 so the team can operate with accountability and continuity.

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 the 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, with the ability to convey complex technical and policy concepts to diverse audiences.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to manage 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 the impact of technology on society and a demonstrated ability to listen carefully to external concerns.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
• 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
• Mental health and wellness support
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
• Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
• Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.