National Security Cyber Evaluation Lead

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, we are 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. In this role, you will: 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. You might thrive in this role if you: Possess a TS/SCI security clearance. Are an experienced leader with strong credibility among national security and cyber stakeholders and have the judgment to manage sensitive government partnerships. Bring substantial expertise in cyber operations, cybersecurity research, adversarial testing, or cyber capability evaluation, together with a strong understanding of emerging AI technologies. Can translate between technical evidence, operational cyber concerns, and policy implications, and can turn ambiguous findings into clear decisions and next steps. Excel at coalition-building and complex cross-functional execution, while remaining comfortable owning the details and driving initiatives independently as an accountable individual contributor. Are excited by the potential of advanced AI, thoughtful about its risks, and comfortable operating amid ambiguity and r