OpenAI

Senior Counsel, Litigation & Regulatory

OpenAI$180K — $220K *
Legal & Accounting
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of regulatory investigations and/or litigation experience, particularly in tech firms and law practices.
  • Experience in setting strategy and leading complex matters involving regulators and opposing counsel.
  • Strong ability to clearly communicate complex legal and technical issues.
  • Proven capability to work with cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders under pressure.
  • JD and qualification to practice law in California.

Responsibilities

  • Lead regulatory inquiries and enforcement matters in the U.S. and internationally.
  • Develop strategy for litigation and contested enforcement proceedings.
  • Partner with litigation counsel on civil disputes, including privacy and IP issues.
  • Manage subpoenas and related information requests from regulators.
  • Prepare executives for regulatory interviews and testimonies.
  • Negotiate resolutions to demands and assess implications of remedies.
  • Select and manage outside counsel, setting strategy and budgets.

Benefits

  • Hybrid work model: 3 days in-office per week.
  • Relocation assistance for new employees.
Full Job Description
About the Role

We're growing our Litigation and Regulatory team and seek an experienced counsel to lead high-stakes regulatory investigations, enforcement matters, and related litigation involving AI. You will own matters from initial inquiry through resolution, develop practical strategies for novel and technically complex issues, and translate an evolving factual record into clear advice. The role works closely with Legal, Product, Research, Safety, Security, Communications, Global Affairs, and executive stakeholders.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:
  • Lead regulatory inquiries, investigations, and enforcement matters in the United States and internationally, including matters involving federal agencies, state attorneys general, and international regulatory bodies.
  • Develop strategy for contested enforcement proceedings and related litigation, including challenges to investigative demands and coordination across parallel matters.
  • Partner with litigation and subject-matter counsel on related civil disputes, including privacy, consumer protection, class actions, cybersecurity, competition, copyright, trademark, and other IP issues.
  • Manage subpoenas, civil investigative demands, requests for information from regulators and related entities, and discovery.
  • Prepare employees and executives for interviews, testimony, depositions, trial, and other appearances before regulators.
  • Negotiate resolutions to demands, complaints, and enforcement matters, and assess the practical implications of proposed remedies and commitments.
  • Select and manage outside counsel, set strategy and budgets, and maintain clear accountability for quality, timing, and outcomes.
  • Develop proactive and, where appropriate, affirmative legal strategies to address regulatory risk and protect the company's ability to develop and deploy AI responsibly.
  • Partner with Global Affairs and Communications on regulator engagement and sensitive external communications, keeping legal strategy and factual representations aligned.
  • Assess emerging legal and regulatory developments affecting AI and provide clear, actionable advice to leadership about risks, options, and recommended next steps.


You might thrive in this role if you:
  • Have 10+ years of regulatory investigations and/or litigation experience, including substantial experience at technology companies and law firms.
  • Have personally set strategy and led complex matters from initial inquiry through resolution, including direct engagement with regulators and opposing counsel.
  • Communicate complex legal and technical issues clearly, distinguish established facts from uncertainty, and make practical recommendations under pressure.
  • Work effectively with cross-functional teams, legal operations, outside counsel, and senior stakeholders while managing multiple urgent matters.
  • Bring intellectual curiosity, sound judgment, a strong sense of ownership, and a willingness to challenge assumptions respectfully and learn from feedback.
  • Have a JD and a license or qualification to practice in California.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research laboratory consisting of the for-profit corporation OpenAI LP and its parent company, the non-profit OpenAI Inc. The company was founded in 2015 by a group of technology leaders, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, and John Schulman. OpenAI's mission is to develop and promote friendly AI for the betterment of humanity. The company has developed a number of cutting-edge AI technologies, including GPT-3, a language processing system that can generate human-like text. OpenAI has received funding from a number of high-profile investors, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.
Learn more about OpenAI
Size
100 employees
Industry
Founded
2015

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