OpenAI

Senior Counsel, Sanctions and Trade Compliance

OpenAI$150K — $200K *
Legal & Accounting
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of trade compliance experience in a tech-focused environment
  • J.D. from an accredited law school; active license to practice law in the U.S.
  • In-depth knowledge of U.S. and international sanctions laws for multinational companies
  • Proven track record in embedding compliance programs in business workflows
  • Strong program management skills with an ability to organize complex systems
  • Excellent communication skills to foster trust across diverse teams
  • Demonstrated ownership and enthusiasm for technology and compliance challenges.

Responsibilities

  • Advise teams on U.S. and international sanctions compliance requirements.
  • Develop global sanctions compliance strategies for an innovative AI company.
  • Collaborate with Finance, Integrity, GRC, and Engineering to implement sanctions controls.
  • Manage compliance documentation, including policies, metrics, and escalation frameworks.
  • Integrate compliance systems and tools for seamless operational checks.
  • Conduct ongoing risk assessments to ensure compliance effectiveness.
  • Oversee vendors and third parties supporting compliance operations.
  • Create training materials related to trade compliance for cross-functional teams.
  • Utilize AI tools to enhance trade compliance efficiency.

Benefits

  • Flexible hybrid or remote work options available.
  • Relocation assistance provided for new employees.
  • Work in a dynamic environment at a leading AI technology company.
  • Opportunity to have real ownership and impact on global compliance systems.
  • Access to learning opportunities in advanced compliance tools and technology.
Full Job Description
About the Role

As a member of our Security Legal team, you will be responsible for managing and evolving OpenAI's sanctions compliance program, from developing an overall compliance strategy, mapping out screening architecture and workflow designs, and working cross functionally with colleagues on monitoring, metrics, and continuous improvement. You will manage sanctions compliance policy and strategy for one of the most closely watched and globally impactful technology platforms in the world, and have real ownership and the chance to develop systems that scale globally as the company and our technology continues to evolve. You'll also collaborate on adjacent trade compliance and security issues.

This role can be hybrid or remote and based in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York, or Seattle. 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:
  • Advise cross-functional teams on compliance and legal requirements applicable to OpenAI's products and services under U.S. and international sanctions regimes.
  • Develop sanctions compliance strategies and processes at a global scale for a frontier AI company operating across jurisdictions and products.
  • Partner closely with cross-functional teams across Finance, Integrity, GRC, and Engineering to implement sanctions screening and controls that are deeply embedded into business workflows.
  • Own compliance documentation and reporting, including policies, standards, dashboards, metrics, and escalation frameworks to enable rapid monitoring, assessment, and improvement of compliance processes
  • Work with cross-functional teams to deeply understand and integrate compliance systems and tools, ensuring compliance checks are seamless, reliable, and adaptable as OpenAI evolves.
  • Lead ongoing reviews and risk assessments to ensure the continued effectiveness of our compliance controls and processes.
  • Manage and coordinate vendors and other third parties who support OpenAI's compliance operations.
  • Assist in the development of trade compliance training materials for our cross-functional partners and business teams.
  • Explore and deploy AI tools to enhance and streamline OpenAI's trade compliance efforts.


You might thrive in this role if you:
  • Have 10+ years of experience in the trade compliance field, including developing and implementing trade compliance programs at a large, technology-focused company.
  • Hold a J.D. from an accredited law school and maintain an active license to practice law, in good standing, in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
  • Bring a sophisticated understanding of how US and international sanctions laws apply to multinational US companies.
  • Have successfully embedded comprehensive compliance programs and incorporated compliance processes into complex business workflows without slowing innovation.
  • Enjoy learning new systems and becoming the go-to expert in the systems and technical tools required for your job.
  • Are highly skilled at program management, including organizing complex systems, tasks, processes, and documentation.
  • Communicate in a way that builds trust with cross-functional teams, from engineers to business leaders.
  • Have a strong sense of ownership, are inquisitive and enthusiastic about technology, enjoy being continually challenged, and can demonstrate sound judgment in ambiguous situations.

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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