National Security Cyber Evaluation Lead

Details

About the Team

OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. The Global Affairs team builds authentic, collaborative relationships with policymakers, public officials, and the broader AI policy community so that external insights inform our work and OpenAI can contribute to effective policy, industry standards, and the safe and beneficial development of AI. Within Global Affairs, the National Security Policy team works at the intersection of advanced AI, government, and the highest-consequence security challenges.

About the Role

In response to recent government actions directing the federal government to establish additional national security testing and classified benchmarking for advanced AI capabilities, OpenAI is looking for an experienced leader to oversee OpenAI’s engagement with relevant U.S. government partners. Reporting to the Head of National Security Policy, you will define OpenAI’s policy and engagement strategy for cyber-focused testing and evaluation and own the political, policy, and institutional relationships around that work. You will collaborate closely with technical leaders in Safety Systems and Security, who will often own the substantive design, execution, and interpretation of evaluations, and serve as a close counterpart to OpenAI’s National Security Risk Mitigation Lead to keep the cyber portfolio aligned with broader national security risk-mitigation work.

This position requires deep judgment, technical curiosity, and creativity in translating novel cyber capabilities into useful government-industry evaluation programs. This is not a generalist national security role. It is best suited for someone with specialized experience in cyber operations, cybersecurity research, adversarial testing, or AI evaluations; fluency with the constraints of sensitive government partnerships; and the ability to translate between technical teams, policy leaders, and operational stakeholders. Experience in the technology sector and a strong technical understanding of generative AI are highly desirable.

This role is based in Washington, D.C. or the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and may involve regular travel to meet with government and technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Define OpenAI’s policy and engagement strategy for cyber-focused testing and evaluation, and own the political, policy, and institutional relationships with relevant U.S. government national security partners.
• Partner closely with technical leads in Safety Systems and Security—who will often own the substantive design, execution, and interpretation of evaluations—to translate technical priorities into effective government engagements and align scope, access, information-sharing, timelines, governance, and communication of findings.
• Coordinate across policy and technical teams to ensure external commitments reflect sound technical judgment and that evaluation findings inform mitigations, preparedness decisions, research and product priorities, and OpenAI’s broader government engagement strategy.

Requirements / Qualifications

• Specialized experience in cyber operations, cybersecurity research, adversarial testing, or cyber capability evaluation.
• Strong understanding of emerging AI technologies, including generative AI.
• Ability to translate between technical evidence, operational cyber concerns, and policy implications, and to turn ambiguous findings into clear decisions and next steps.
• Experience managing sensitive government partnerships and strong credibility among national security and cyber stakeholders.
• Ability to build coalitions and execute complex cross-functional initiatives while also owning details as an individual contributor.
• Fluency with the constraints of sensitive government partnerships; possessing a TS/SCI security clearance is listed as a desirable qualification.

Benefits

• Base pay varies depending on market location, knowledge, skills, and experience. Total compensation also includes equity and performance-related bonus(es) for eligible employees.
• 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 coordinated company office closures, plus paid sick or safe time as required by law.
• Mental health and wellness support.
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage.
• Annual learning and development stipend.
• Daily meals in 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 be provided.

Additional Notes

• Background checks will be administered in accordance with applicable law.
• OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.