Policy Director, Office of the Chief Executive Officer

Policy Director (Office of the CEO) — Secure AI Project

Basic info about the role:

• Title: Policy Director (Office of the CEO)
• Compensation: $115,000–$235,000, depending on experience.
• Location: Remote (US only). We currently have staff in the Bay Area, Washington D.C., Boston, Denver, Durham, and rural Vermont. In person in D.C. or Berkeley is preferred but not required.
• Contact: hiring@secureaiproject.org
• To apply, submit an application here by 11:59pm PT, July 26, 2026.

We are open to hiring both early-career and highly experienced candidates, with compensation commensurate with experience. We prefer candidates with existing U.S. work authorization but may be able to sponsor visas for exceptional candidates.

Please note: This role may require ~one week of travel per quarter, and potentially more depending on how the role develops. If this would be an issue for you, please let us know in your application form.

About the Secure AI Project

We develop and advocate for pragmatic policies to reduce risks of severe harm from advanced AI. We were founded in December 2024 and operate as a 501c4 non-profit organization. Our cofounders are Nick Beckstead and Thomas Woodside, and our full team is here.

Our initial focus on state-level AI policy

Thus far, we’ve worked very closely with state legislators to pass some of the most comprehensive AI safety bills in the country; SB 53 in CA, the RAISE Act in NY, and SB 315 in IL. These laws apply to everyone doing business in CA, NY, and IL which includes all major AI developers. You can read more about bills we have supported here.

We’ve prioritized state work because 1) very powerful AI systems may be developed soon, 2) federal action has been stalled, 3) success in state legislatures could build momentum for and/or yield many of the benefits of federal legislation while being much more tractable, and 4) this work otherwise receives little attention from the AI policy community.

In the next year, we want to help ensure effective enforcement of the laws we’ve passed, pass even stronger laws at the state level, and expand into federal advocacy.

To accomplish this, we need to hire determined, entrepreneurial people who have conviction about our mission. We believe this creates an outstanding opportunity for people who want to create meaningful laws and regulations to protect the public from potentially severe risks of frontier models.

About the position

Serve as a strategic partner and force-multiplier to our executive team (Chief of Staff and CEO). This role offers extensive exposure to AI policy leadership and the opportunity to help empower a high-impact organization at an early stage.

You'll have broad access to the work of the CEO and Chief of Staff, sitting in on meetings, being included on critical communications, and developing comprehensive visibility into how the organization runs. Your role is to amplify our executive function while building your own expertise in AI policy and organizational leadership.

Key responsibilities

Depending on your past experience and how you’re doing in the role, you may be asked to:

• Support the daily executive rhythm by preparing meeting agendas, briefing materials, and follow-ups
• Own tracking and accountability across team commitments
• Draft emails and other communications, manage calendars and projects on the CEO's behalf
• Take on quality-control responsibilities for work going to the CEO
• Unblock operational bottlenecks and implement fixes

More experienced candidates may be asked to:

• Stand up new processes as the organization scales
• Lead special projects or build new functions that would normally be owned by the CEO or Chief of Staff
• Parachute into the org’s highest-priority or most stuck problems, across legislative strategy, operations, hiring, comms, or anything else. Dig in, find the root cause, and drive the issue to resolution

We are open to tailoring scope to the right candidate, and expect the role to evolve significantly as you grow into it and as SAIP scales.

Key qualifications

• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Strong written and interpersonal communication
• Ability to context-switch rapidly and manage multiple priorities
• Comfort working in ambiguity and startup environments
• Backgrounds that might be an excellent fit:

• Previous Chief of Staff or other experience supporting executives
• Experience at a top management consulting firm, investment bank, or law firm
• Experience as a legislative staffer or aide to a senior official
• Experience in business operations or strategy at a startup
• An exceptional new graduate with a track record of unusual organizational rigor and follow-through

You may be a good fit if you:

• Are energized by our mission to reduce risks of severe harm from advanced AI
• Like the vibes of The Great CEO Within and would be excited to help implement much of that approach to management and organizational culture
• Have experience stepping into ambiguous, high-stakes problems and driving them to resolution
• Build trust quickly and handle sensitive information with discretion
• Are relentlessly resourceful
• Want intensive, high-context exposure to an ambitious organization at an early stage
• Get impatient when a project could be moving forward but is not, and spring into action to make it happen
• Are equally cheerful about strategic work and getting routine things done well

Not all of the above need to apply — this list is about ruling you in, not out.

What makes this role unique

In this role, you'll have broad visibility into all aspects of running an AI policy organization, from legislative strategy to organizational development. This comprehensive exposure provides excellent training for future leadership roles, whether as Chief of Staff, COO, department head, or your own ventures.

Benefits

• Excellent health insurance integrated with OneMedical membership (we cover 100% for employees and their dependents).
• Dental, vision, and life insurance.
• Five weeks of PTO per year.
• Three months of fully paid family leave.
• An 8% 401k grant (not match).
• A generous professional development stipend and equipment budget.
• Support for remote work. We'll cover a remote workspace outside your home if you need one.

Hiring process

1. Application review

1. After you submit your application, we’ll review it and aim to follow up within two weeks of the application close date. In some cases, we may follow up with some additional questions to collect further information about your experience prior to evaluating your application.

1. Informational call - optional 15 minute call, to give you a chance to learn more about Secure AI Project.
2. Paid hiring exercise - tasks resembling a core responsibility.
3. 1-3 additional interviews
4. Reference checks
5. Work trial

1. We may request a 2 day paid work trial, to give you a chance to work with us, and for us to learn a bit more about what it is like to work with you.
2. We recognize that this won’t be possible for everyone — while we’d like to do this as a way to give us a chance to get to know finalists better, please don’t let this be a barrier to applying if you’re unable to make this work logistically.

1. Decision and offer