Senior Counsel, AI & Product Compliance

About the Team

OpenAI's Legal team plays a crucial role in furthering OpenAI's mission by tackling innovative, fundamental legal issues in AI. If you're passionate about doing significant and unique work as a technology lawyer, this team is for you. The team comprises professionals from diverse fields, including technology, AI, privacy, IP, corporate, employment, tax law, regulatory, and litigation.

About the Role

As a member of our AI Product Counsel team, you will lead legal compliance initiatives for global online safety, platform, and AI regulations, including the UK Online Safety Act, EU Digital Services Act, EU AI Act, and similar emerging frameworks. You will partner closely with Product, Policy, Safety, Engineering, Security, Operations, and other teams to translate complex regulatory requirements into scalable, practical compliance solutions.

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

• Serve as the primary legal expert on the Online Safety Act, Digital Services Act, EU AI Act, and related global AI, platform, and online safety regulations.

• Lead the design and implementation of scalable compliance programs, governance frameworks, controls, and operating processes.

• Partner with Product, Engineering, Safety, Policy, Operations, and Security teams to translate regulatory obligations into practical product and operational requirements.

• Monitor emerging regulations and enforcement trends, anticipate their impact, and help shape OpenAI’s compliance strategy.

• Develop repeatable processes, playbooks, escalation paths, and decision frameworks that enable teams to move quickly while managing risk responsibly.

• Support engagement with regulators, external counsel, industry groups, and other stakeholders as needed.

You’ll thrive in this role if you

• Have 10+ years of experience with a mix of in-house or technology-focused law firm roles.

• Have deep expertise in the UK Online Safety Act, EU Digital Services Act, EU AI Act, and similar global regulatory frameworks.

• Have experience building or leading scalable legal compliance programs in a fast-moving technology environment.

• Can translate complex legal requirements into practical product, technical, and operational guidance.

• Build cross-functional relationships and communication styles that resonate with teams to balance risk-taking with responsible development.

• Demonstrate strong ownership, sound judgment, and comfort operating in ambiguous and rapidly evolving regulatory environments.

• Have a JD and license or qualification to practice in CA.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement https://cdn.openai.com/policies/eeo-policy-statement.pdf.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employer

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary legal expert on the Online Safety Act, Digital Services Act, EU AI Act, and related global AI, platform, and online safety regulations.
• Lead the design and implementation of scalable compliance programs, governance frameworks, controls, and operating processes.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Safety, Policy, Operations, and Security teams to translate regulatory obligations into practical product and operational requirements.
• Monitor emerging regulations and enforcement trends, anticipate their impact, and help shape OpenAI’s compliance strategy.
• Develop repeatable processes, playbooks, escalation paths, and decision frameworks that enable teams to move quickly while managing risk responsibly.
• Support engagement with regulators, external counsel, industry groups, and other stakeholders as needed.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience with a mix of in-house or technology-focused law firm roles.
• Deep expertise in the UK Online Safety Act, EU Digital Services Act, EU AI Act, and similar global regulatory frameworks.
• Experience building or leading scalable legal compliance programs in a fast-moving technology environment.
• Ability to translate complex legal requirements into practical product, technical, and operational guidance.
• Build cross-functional relationships and communication styles that resonate with teams to balance risk-taking with responsible development.
• Demonstrate strong ownership, sound judgment, and comfort operating in ambiguous and rapidly evolving regulatory environments.
• JD and license or qualification to practice in CA.

• Relocation assistance to new employees