Open Philanthropy is looking for a Policy Advisor/Senior Policy Advisor to support the high-impact work of our AI Governance and Policy program and contribute to our U.S. AI policy engagement and advocacy work.

About Open Philanthropy

Open Philanthropy is a philanthropic funder and advisor; our mission is to help others as much as we can with the resources available to us. We select causes based on importance, neglectedness, and tractability, and our current giving areas include potential risks from advanced artificial intelligence, abundance and growth, global health and development, scientific research, global public health policy, farm animal welfare, and biosecurity and pandemic preparedness. In 2024, we recommended $650 million to high-impact causes, and we’ve recommended over $4.8 billion in grants since our formation.

About the AI Governance and Policy team

The AI Governance and Policy team works to improve society’s preparedness for transformative AI, particularly by mitigating global catastrophic risks. Our eleven-person team aims to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in grants annually over the coming years. You can read more about our priorities in our current Request for Proposals.

About the role

We’re seeking 1-2 Policy Advisors or Senior Policy Advisors (depending on experience) from a range of political and professional backgrounds to contribute to our U.S. AI policy engagement and advocacy work. Policy Advisors will play a key role in shaping how Open Philanthropy engages with U.S. AI policy by building coalitions across the AI policy ecosystem, directing funding to high-impact initiatives, and providing strategic guidance and practical support to other AI Governance and Policy staff.

The amount of grantmaking in this role will vary by candidate experience and interest. For those who do focus on grantmaking, we expect they’ll direct $10-30 million in funding during the first year, with the potential for additional funding for promising large-scale opportunities. We are looking to substantially expand our U.S. AI policy work in the coming years, and staff capacity is our primary constraint. No prior grantmaking experience is required.

Key responsibilities

This role is focused on policy, relationship-building, and funding; it isn’t a research position. Policy Advisors will likely spend most of their time:

• Developing and executing strategies to advance beneficial AI policies. We expect our priorities to change as both AI technology and the political landscape continue to evolve, but your work might initially focus on the following high-level goals:

  • Increasing transparency around the capabilities of frontier AI systems.

  • Establishing security standards for frontier AI systems.

  • Evaluating frontier AI systems for national security risks.

  • Advancing institutional capacity to anticipate and address potential security risks from frontier AI systems.

• Representing Open Philanthropy in policy discussions and events; building and maintaining bipartisan relationships with key stakeholders across government, industry, civil society, and academia. (We do not expect this position to require registering as a lobbyist.)

• Identifying and supporting promising policy initiatives through strategic funding and coalition building.

• Serving as a trusted source of guidance on U.S, AI policy matters for Open Philanthropy staff, including by:

  • Tracking and analyzing relevant policy discussions and developments that could impact our work.

  • Providing strategic counsel on policy developments and opportunities to help increase the effectiveness of the AI Governance and Policy team’s grantmaking.

This job description intentionally covers several potential areas of focus. This reflects our willingness to shape the role around a candidate’s strengths and experience. While we expect Policy Advisors to support each of the activities above to some extent, the way they actually allocate their time (between strategy development, policy advising, representing Open Philanthropy externally, and grantmaking) will depend on how their interests and aptitudes overlap with team priorities.

Who might be a good fit

While we don’t expect candidates to have all of these attributes, our ideal candidates would have many of the following traits:

• A strong track record of driving US policy change at the federal level, with experience in at least one of the following:

  • The executive branch (particularly EOP, Commerce, Defense, or State).

  • Congress (particularly with a portfolio focused on technology, science, commerce, or national security).

  • Think tanks or advocacy organizations in a role that involved working closely with decision-makers in the government.

• Deep understanding of federal policymaking processes and strong relationships within the DC policy community, especially in areas relevant to AI policy.

• Demonstrated ability to:

  • Work quickly, pragmatically, and creatively.

  • Make strategic pivots in response to a rapidly evolving policy landscape.

  • Build and maintain coalitions across government, industry, and/or civil society.

• Strong communication skills, especially the ability to explain your views and reasoning and to work effectively with ideologically diverse partners.

• Alignment with Open Philanthropy’s mission of helping others as much as we can with the resources available to us.

• Interest in and basic familiarity with AI policy issues, particularly regarding security, alignment, and governance of potentially transformative AI systems. (This is preferred but not required. Strong candidates might instead have experience in other technology policy topics, demonstrated interest in areas like global catastrophic risk reduction and international/national security, and/or a track record of quickly getting up to speed on new policy domains.)

• A commitment to advancing bipartisan approaches to navigating the impacts of transformative AI.

We currently expect to offer the Policy Advisor role to applicants with 5–10+ years of relevant work experience, and the Senior Policy Advisor role to applicants with 10+ years of relevant experience. However, we welcome applications from candidates with fewer years of experience who demonstrate exceptional strength in the other qualifications outlined above.

The ideal candidate for this position will possess many of the skills and experiences described above. However, there is no such thing as a “perfect” candidate. If you are on the fence about applying because you are unsure whether you are qualified, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Application process

Our application process will include a take-home work assignment and interviews, which will likely be a mix of remote and in-person sessions in Washington D.C. We cannot give feedback during the early stages of the process, including on any work tests, due to time constraints.

The initial application consists of a series of short questions on our application form. Please note that we read all of these answers and consider them closely when evaluating applicants. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to the next stage, a written work test, which will then be followed by initial interviews, final interviews, and reference checks.

We expect to make an offer by early January. If you need to hear back from us sooner (e.g., if you’re part of another hiring process with similar timelines), we strongly encourage you to reach out and let us know.

Role details & benefits

• Location: Washington, D.C., with some travel required. We can sponsor work authorization for eligible candidates. (Open Philanthropy is headquartered in San Francisco, but we operate an office in D.C., and our US government-focused team members are based in the area.)

• Compensation: The starting compensation for a Policy Advisor role will be $184,092.80, including a base salary of $161,092.80 and an unconditional 401(k) grant of $23,000. The starting compensation for a Senior Policy Advisor role will be $224,678.08, including a base salary of $201,678.08 and an unconditional 401(k) grant of $23,000.

• Start date: As soon as possible, but we can be flexible for the right candidate. We expect to make offers by early January.

• Reporting structure: Depending on seniority, you would report either to Senior AI Policy Advisor Melanie Harris or to another US policy-focused member of our AI Governance and Policy team. You would also work closely with Director of Government Relations Michael Brownlie and the rest of the AI Governance and Policy team.

• Benefits: Our benefits package includes:

  • Excellent health insurance (we cover 100% of premiums within the U.S. for you and any eligible dependents) and an employer-funded Health Reimbursement Arrangement for certain other personal health expenses.

  • Dental, vision, and life insurance for you and your family.

  • Four weeks of PTO recommended per year.

  • Four months of fully paid family leave.

  • A generous and flexible expense policy — we encourage staff to expense the ergonomic equipment, software, and other services that they need to stay healthy and productive.

  • A continual learning policy that encourages staff to spend time on professional development with related expenses covered.

  • Support for remote work — we’ll cover a remote workspace outside your home if you need one (but note that being based in the Washington D.C. area is a requirement for this role).

We aim to employ people with many different experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who share our passion for accomplishing as much good as we can. We are committed to creating an environment where all employees have the opportunity to succeed, and we do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability or have any other questions about applying, please contact jobs@openphilanthropy.org.

Please apply by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, 23 October 2025 to be considered.

US-based Program staff are typically employed by Open Philanthropy Project LLC, which is not a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. As such, this role is unlikely to be eligible for public service loan forgiveness programs.

Open Philanthropy may use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies, including natural language processing and predictive analytics, to assist in the initial screening of employment applications. These AI/ML tools assess applications against the characteristics and qualifications relevant to the job requisition. These tools are designed to help identify potentially qualified candidates, but they do not make automated hiring decisions. The AI/ML-generated assessments are one of several factors considered in the hiring process. Our human recruiting team will thoroughly evaluate your skills and qualifications to determine your suitability for the role.

If you prefer not to have your application assessed using AI/ML features, you may opt out by reaching out to jobs@openphilanthropy.org and letting us know. Opting out will not negatively impact your application, which will be reviewed manually by our team.