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OpenAI's Governance team is seeking a Research Program Manager to help shape how the company responsibly develops and deploys increasingly capable AI systems. This role sits at the intersection of technical evidence, policy, and operations, working to identify emerging risks, resolve difficult questions, and support well-informed decision-making across the organization.
You will synthesize technical, policy, and operational inputs to develop coherent assessments and recommendations for governance bodies and senior leadership. Your work involves engaging with complex, often ambiguous questions—testing assumptions, identifying evidence gaps, and determining what additional analysis is needed. You'll partner closely with research, safety, security, legal, and product teams to shape substantive reviews, frame critical questions, and communicate conclusions clearly to decision-makers.
Key responsibilities include translating governance feedback and decisions into concrete work with clear ownership, milestones, and completion criteria. You'll drive cross-team execution, resolve blockers, surface difficult tradeoffs, and escalate resource gaps or disagreements when needed. You'll help teams understand which governance processes apply, integrate reviews into research and deployment plans, and maintain clear records of decisions, rationale, and unresolved questions.
You'll also contribute to improving governance practices and standards as capabilities and circumstances evolve, building practical tools and operating cadences that enhance the quality and pace of work. This requires developing trusted relationships across multiple functions and external partners, exercising sound judgment in sensitive situations, and navigating disagreement constructively.
Ideal candidates bring experience leading complex cross-functional work in research, technology, policy, safety, or governance environments. You should be intellectually curious, able to synthesize complicated information without losing important distinctions, and skilled at turning ambiguous requests into finished work. Strong writing ability, particularly for senior audiences, is essential. Experience with AI safety, model evaluations, advisory committees, board-facing work, or strategic partnerships is valuable.
