Public Sector Lead Counsel

About the Team

OpenAI's Legal team plays a crucial role in furthering OpenAI's mission by tackling innovative, fundamental legal issues in AI. If you're passionate about doing significant and unique work as a technology lawyer, this team is for you. The team comprises legal professionals from diverse fields, including technology, privacy, IP, corporate, cybersecurity, employment, tax, regulatory, and litigation.

About the Role

OpenAI seeks an experienced counsel to lead on legal issues related to OpenAI’s public-sector business, including compliance, contract management, and risk mitigation issues that arise in providing services to the public sector. We’re looking for a legal self-starter with relevant prior in-house experience in this domain. This is a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of the AI field and government adoption of a critical technology. The role will work closely with our Commercial Legal, Product Legal, and Employment Legal teams, as well as with Product and Security business teams, and will report to our Deputy General Counsel.

This role will be based in San Francisco, CA or in Washington, DC. 

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Transactions: Drafting and negotiating public sector customer agreements and managing legal engagements with customers to meet regulatory and business needs.

• Compliance: Providing legal oversight of compliance issues pertaining to public sector requirements (e.g., FAR, anti-bribery and anti-kickback compliance, OCIs, post-government employment issues, etc.).

• Security Requirements: Ensure compliance with relevant government security requirements, including personnel and cybersecurity requirements.

We are looking for:

• 10+ years of combined legal experience, including experience as a public sector lawyer at technology companies;

• a strong sense of ownership, are inquisitive and enthusiastic about technology, enjoy being continually challenged, and can demonstrate sound judgment in ambiguous situations;

• strong communication skills with the ability to convey complex legal principles clearly and concisely

• demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional environment

• a JD and license or qualification to practice law

• an Active U.S. government security clearance

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 do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. 

OpenAI Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement

For US Based Candidates: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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.