Senior Strategist of Public Policy, Office of Responsible AI

Microsoft has an immediate opening for a Senior Strategist of Public Policy to contribute to our public policy team in the Office of Responsible AI.  

Microsoft is committed to ensuring that we develop and deploy our AI technologies in ways that uphold our AI principles and warrant people’s trust. The Office of Responsible AI plays a leading role in this effort as part of Microsoft’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) team. With a cross-company mandate, we establish internal policy to enact our responsible AI commitments, support the rollout of our responsible AI program, enable our community of Responsible AI Champs, manage the company’s AI governance commitments, and guide high-impact engineering and customer projects. We also contribute to the conversation about new laws, norms, and standards needed to advance responsible AI for the benefit of society.  

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond. 

Responsibilities

Lead public policy development and strategy 

• Contribute to a high-performing team, including by leading public policy workstreams focused on designing and building the next generation of public policy positions and working with colleagues internally and externally to advance and implement them.  
• Contribute your in-depth understanding of AI technologies and their sociotechnical implications with your knowledge of public policy levers. Help Microsoft develop evidence-based positions that support the establishment of effective policy interventions, including frameworks that ensure effective policy expectations and guardrails are in place to secure the beneficial use of AI technologies.  

Collaborations with Research, Engineering, and Internal Policy colleagues 

• Our responsible AI ecosystem at Microsoft combines policy and governance expertise with a commitment to research-led approaches that are engineered into the AI systems that we build. As such, our public policy work requires close coordination with our colleagues in Microsoft Research who provide scientific foresight on emerging issues and subject matter expertise on each of our AI principles.  
• Work closely with our engineering teams to assess the impact of different policy positions and regulatory proposals and provide insight into emerging regulatory trends to inform their planning cycles.  
• Collaborate closely with colleagues in the Office of Responsible AI’s Internal Policy and Practice; Sensitive Uses and Emerging Technologies; and Governance, Enablement, Legal and Learning teams to bring insights from our internal policy development to the dialogue on effective public policy measures and ensure that our internal governance is informed by emerging regulatory trends and developments.  

Collaborations with external stakeholders 

• Builds and maintains strong, ongoing relationships with external stakeholders and proactively identifies opportunities to collaborate on effective regulatory strategies. As the development and adoption of effective public policy measures require deep collaboration with stakeholders external to Microsoft, including representatives of civil society, academia, government, and industry. 

Trend analysis and coordination with global Government Affairs teams 

• Work in close partnership with our Government Affairs teams around the world and within the region. Help ensure that public policy trends across geographies are identified in a timely way to help inform the Office of Responsible AI’s planning and prioritization processes.  
• Leverage the infrastructure maintained by our central coordination teams, help develop materials and training to equip and partner with and empower our Government Affairs colleagues in local policy advocacy on responsible AI.   

Advocacy

• The role will be called upon to represent Microsoft externally on a range of issues at the intersection of responsible AI and regulation. The successful candidate will spend time speaking in public fora and be expected to contribute to whitepapers and other publications.   

Elevating Our Team

• Be an exemplary leader who embodies our culture and values. You have a track record of high ethical standards, unquestioned integrity, and a steadfast commitment to advancing the company’s diversity and inclusion commitments. 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, Law or related field AND 4+ years experience of working in technology, or highly-regulated fields such as finance or healthcare, or in government, on the development of new regulatory concepts and public policy positions to address complex and rapidly evolving issues at the intersection of technology, law, ethics, and society. 
• OR equivalent experience 
• Proven experience as an external presenter, with highly developed written and oral communication skills. Must be able to proactively advance company positions through high impact engagement in small and/or large group settings.  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the domain of responsible AI is valued highly. Applicants should have a demonstrated ability to identify existing and emerging sociotechnical issues in the development and deployment of AI technologies and be able to design effective public policy strategies to address them.  
• Regulatory experiences such as crafting regulatory responses for new and emerging domains, plus the deep knowledge of regulatory frameworks and public policy levers around the globe. 
• Strong stakeholder engagement to engage and influence a variety of stakeholders -- both within and outside Microsoft, and highly interdisciplinary environment that includes researchers and practitioners from computer science, statistics, social sciences, humanities, and other fields.  
• A strong record of being an effective team player dedicated to collective successes. The ability to promote cooperation and solve problems in a timely, creative, and professional manner. 

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

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