Policy Counsel, National Security

About Anthropic

Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.

About the Role

Anthropic is seeking an exceptional Policy Counsel to help navigate the complex intersection of national security policy, AI safety, and regulatory compliance.  As AI systems become increasingly relevant to national security decision-making, you will work alongside a growing team to support Anthropic’s work with defense and intelligence partners.  The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in national security law, sound judgment under pressure, and the ability to judiciously translate complex regulatory requirements into timely, accurate, and practical advice in support of Anthropic’s public benefit mission. 

Responsibilities:

• Support the development and deployment of AI systems to national security partners in close collaboration with the policy, technical, and sales teams
• Partner with cross-functional teams to develop practical and scalable ways to improve the government’s understanding of the national security implications of advanced AI
• Assist in drafting policy positions, responses to regulatory inquiries, and other materials
• Monitor developments in national security law and policy, including legislative proposals, regulatory changes, and agency guidance, and communicate implications to key stakeholders across the organization
• Support compliance initiatives relating to trade controls and sanctions

You may be a good fit if you have:

• A JD from an accredited law school and active membership in at least one U.S. state bar
• At least 8 years of experience in national security law, with at least some service in government as well as other experience from law firms or relevant in-house roles
• Experience exercising sound judgment in, and having a high tolerance for, ambiguous situations and operating at the highest levels of integrity and discretion
• Strategic, flexible, and solution-oriented, with ability to find practical paths forward in areas where law and policy are evolving rapidly
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to coordinate complex matters across multiple internal teams and outside counsel
• Exceptional analytical, writing, and communication skills, with the ability to distill complex legal and policy issues for technical teams, business leaders, and government stakeholders

Strong candidates may have:

• Experience working in or advising technology companies on government partnerships or national security regulatory matters
• Familiarity with AI policy issues or emerging technology regulation
• Active security clearance or willingness to seek and obtain a clearance
• Experience with export controls and sanctions compliance programs

Role-specific policy: For this role, we expect staff to be able to work from either our Washington, DC or San Francisco office at least 3 days a week, though we encourage you to apply even if you might need some flexibility for an interim period of time.

The expected base compensation for this position is below. Our total compensation package for full-time employees includes equity, benefits, and may include incentive compensation.

Annual Salary:$265,000—$320,000 USD

Logistics

Education requirements: We require at least a Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience.

Location-based hybrid policy: Currently, we expect all staff to be in one of our offices at least 25% of the time. However, some roles may require more time in our offices.

Visa sponsorship: We do sponsor visas! However, we aren't able to successfully sponsor visas for every role and every candidate. But if we make you an offer, we will make every reasonable effort to get you a visa, and we retain an immigration lawyer to help with this.

We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification. Not all strong candidates will meet every single qualification as listed.  Research shows that people who identify as being from underrepresented groups are more prone to experiencing imposter syndrome and doubting the strength of their candidacy, so we urge you not to exclude yourself prematurely and to submit an application if you're interested in this work. We think AI systems like the ones we're building have