Research Communications Manager, Safety

Responsibilities

Shape Safety Research Narratives

• Develop clear, credible external narratives around OpenAI’s safety research, including alignment, evaluations, preparedness, interpretability, and other areas connected to the safe development of frontier AI.
• Translate complex technical work into accessible stories without oversimplifying, overstating impact, or creating unnecessary alarm.
• Help define and reinforce OpenAI’s POV on key safety research topics and how they connect to OpenAI’s broader research roadmap and mission.

Partner Deeply with Researchers

• Work directly with safety and alignment researchers to understand their work, identify the most important ideas, and help position those ideas publicly.
• Serve as a communications thought partner to researchers—helping them anticipate questions, clarify implications, and communicate with precision.
• Build communications plans that help researchers share their work through the right channels, at the right level of depth, and with the right context.

Lead Proactive Storytelling & Content Strategy

• Develop proactive storytelling opportunities across blogs, explainers, video, podcasts, events, and other channels beyond traditional media.
• Help identify creative ways to elevate safety research and make the work more legible to expert and non-expert audiences.
• Look across the safety research portfolio to identify broader themes, narrative opportunities, and moments where OpenAI can contribute meaningfully to public understanding.

Support Research Launches & Publications

• Partner with research teams to plan communications for major papers, evaluations, model-related research, safety initiatives, and other technical publications.
• Collaborate with editorial, design, social, policy, and research teams on blogs, explainers, visuals, briefing materials, and supporting content.
• Ensure launches are grounded in evidence, appropriately scoped, and aligned with OpenAI’s safety, policy, and communications priorities.

Lead Research-Focused Media Engagement

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with science, technology, AI, and business journalists who cover frontier AI and safety research.
• Manage proactive and reactive media engagement related to safety research announcements, papers, collaborations, and emerging narratives.
• Prepare researchers and executives for interviews, briefings, events, and public appearances.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Work closely with Product, Policy, Safety, Legal, Marketing, and other Communications teams to align safety research communications with broader company goals.
• Partner with teams managing crisis and reactive safety communications to ensure clear coordination, while maintaining focus on proactive research storytelling.
• Help build a stronger communications muscle around safety research across the organization.

Risk Anticipation & Mitigation

• Identify potential reputational, scientific, policy, or misinterpretation risks early.
• Develop mitigation strategies, Q&A, messaging guidance, and briefing materials for sensitive or high-profile safety research topics.
• Help ensure OpenAI communicates responsibly about frontier capabilities, limitations, uncertainty, and the role of ongoing safety research.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in research, science, technology, or safety-related communications.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with scientists, engineers, researchers, or technical leaders.
• Strong understanding of AI, machine learning, safety research, alignment, or adjacent technical domains.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to adapt tone for expert and general audiences.
• Strong judgment handling complex, ambiguous, or high-stakes narratives.
• Experience developing proactive storytelling strategies across multiple channels, including blogs, media, video, podcasts, events, or long-form content.
• Experience managing multiple workstreams in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
• Strong project management and cross-functional collaboration skills.