Program Manager, Government Trusted Access

Details

OpenAI for Government works with U.S. and allied government institutions to support the responsible adoption of AI across defense, intelligence, federal civilian, state and local, and international public-sector missions. The team helps public servants use frontier AI in ways that are effective, trusted, and grounded in real-world requirements for safety, reliability, security, compliance, and accountability.

Government Trusted Access programs help eligible public-sector organizations and practitioners use advanced capabilities for approved, high-value work in sensitive domains. These programs bring together OpenAI for Government, Product Policy, Legal, Security, International, Research, User Operations, Technical Success, Global Affairs, and domain experts. Each program has distinct eligibility criteria, safeguards, and decision owners; the role is responsible for making the overall government experience coherent and executable.

The role is based in Washington, DC, with a hybrid work model requiring three days in the office per week.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate government participation across domain-specific Trusted Access programs, including cyber and biology, while helping establish future programs as the portfolio evolves.
• Own the end-to-end program operating rhythm across intake, qualification, review, approval, onboarding, activation, ongoing support, renewal, and offboarding.
• Maintain a clear portfolio view of applicants and participating organizations, access levels, requirements, owners, dependencies, commitments, risks, and decisions needed.
• Build practical program mechanisms such as roadmaps, ownership maps, decision logs, risk registers, service standards, operating reviews, dashboards, and executive updates.
• Coordinate cross-functional reviews across OpenAI for Government, Safety, Product Policy, Legal, Security, Product, Research, User Operations, Technical Success, Global Affairs, and domain experts.
• Preserve clear decision boundaries by ensuring the appropriate domain owner makes eligibility, policy, safety, security, and access decisions while keeping the broader process moving.
• Identify stalled reviews, broken handoffs, unclear ownership, capacity constraints, and recurring operational gaps; bring the appropriate context, options, and recommendations to resolve them.
• Partner with government-facing teams to set accurate expectations, coordinate participant communications, and ensure commitments are tracked through completion.
• Define and monitor program health through measures such as review time, backlog age, onboarding completion, activation, support demand, participant outcomes, and operational risk.
• Turn manual and one-off work into scalable workflows, documentation, training, automation, and tooling while retaining appropriate human judgment for sensitive decisions.
• Capture lessons across domains and translate them into reusable operating patterns without flattening meaningful differences between programs.

Requirements

• 5–10 years of experience in program management, strategy and operations, product operations, trust and safety, risk operations, support operations, government technology, implementation, or a related field.
• Experience leading complex, cross-functional programs from an ambiguous problem statement through launch and steady-state operation.
• Ability to build trust and drive alignment without direct authority while keeping ownership, accountability, and escalation paths clear.
• Ability to translate technical, policy, legal, safety, security, and customer requirements into practical workflows and decision structures.
• Analytical fluency and comfort using operational data, dashboards, case-management systems, and lightweight automation to identify bottlenecks and improve program health.
• Clear and direct communication with technical teams, operators, government stakeholders, and executives, especially when evidence is incomplete or tradeoffs are sensitive.
• Ability to learn unfamiliar domains quickly, ask strong questions, and bring in specialists when appropriate.
• Calm and reliable execution in a fast-moving environment, with sound judgment when handling sensitive information.
• Experience supporting government, public-sector, national-security, regulated, or other security-conscious organizations.

Benefits

• Base salary of $162,000–$240,000 per year, plus equity.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts.
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts and commuter benefits.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match.
• Paid parental, medical, and caregiver leave.
• Paid time off, company holidays, and paid office closures.
• Mental health and wellness support.
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage.
• Annual learning and development stipend.
• Daily office meals and eligible meal delivery credits.
• Relocation support for eligible employees.
• Additional benefits may include charitable donation matching and wellness stipends.

OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer committed to reasonable accommodations and compliance with applicable employment laws.