Part of a joint legal hiring round. This role is one of many in-house and fractional counsel positions being filled together by organizations across the AI safety ecosystem. One application covers every organization you select, and each organization interviews and hires independently.
Read about the full round → About the role
Encode is several legal entities: a 501(c)(3), a 501(c)(4), multiple state PACs, a federal PAC, and political activity across many states. We're also growing fast, from about a dozen people to several dozen over the next 18 months.
Until now our legal work has been split between outside counsel and staff who had other jobs. You'll be the first person whose whole job is keeping Encode legally sound. The job is less about producing memos than about giving practical, decision-ready answers on short notice, knowing what to handle in-house and what to send out, and building the structures that let a growing team move quickly without creating problems later.
We work in an adversarial space. We want counsel who will lay out the risk, the likelihood, and a clear recommendation based on the specifics in front of them, not counsel who defaults to best practices.
What you'll do
- Manage outside counsel. Decide what we handle in-house and what goes to outside firms, then manage that work and its cost.
- Own the entities' structures and relationships. Keep the lines between the c3, c4, and PACs clean, working with our Director of Operations on cost-sharing, staff time allocation, lobbying limits, and which entity pays for what.
- Give real-time advice. Staff will come to you with questions like “can the c4 pay for this event,” “can I say this to a legislator's staffer,” or “can this person volunteer for the PAC.” Most need a practical answer fast; you'll own getting it, including from our external firms when needed.
- Oversee lobbying and campaign finance compliance. Our external firm executes federal LDA registrations and reports, state lobbying registrations everywhere we operate, FEC compliance for the PAC, and state donor-disclosure filings. You're the person in-house responsible for making sure it's done correctly.
- Prepare for risk. Set up document retention, prepare for subpoenas or litigation threats, and handle them if they come.
- Draft and review contracts. Agreements with lobbyists, consultants, comms firms, vendors, and grantors, plus our office lease and anything else we sign.
Who we're looking for
- You have at least five years of legal practice experience and are authorized to practice law where you intend to work from.
- You have strong legal judgment and are comfortable with ambiguity. Much of what comes up here — the boundaries of c3/c4 activity, state donor-disclosure regimes, political activity across many jurisdictions — has thin precedent.
- You're fast. Slow turnaround is a recurring pain point across this ecosystem, and we need counsel who can keep pace with it.
- You're risk-calibrated, not risk-averse. You'd rather give a clear recommendation with your reasoning than defer to the most conservative option.
- Experience with nonprofit tax law, election law, or lobbying compliance is a significant advantage. Prior AI policy experience is not required, though a working interest in it helps.
Compensation, benefits, and location
$250,000–$350,000, with possible flexibility for top candidates.
Encode also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:
- 100% of healthcare, vision, and dental insurance premiums covered for employees, 50% for spouses and dependents
- Unlimited PTO and ~20 office holidays, including all federal holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year's Day
- 401(k) retirement plan with 6% unconditional employer contribution
Most of our team works out of Washington, D.C., but we're willing to hire remote anywhere in the USA for this round.
About Encode AI
Encode AI advocates for responsible AI development that serves the public interest. We've helped shape major AI policy wins across the federal and state level, including Illinois's SB 315, New York's RAISE Act, the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, and America's first nuclear weapons AI safeguards. We also hold the industry accountable through other strategic advocacy, including our amicus brief and coalition letter that contributed to the OpenAI nonprofit retaining oversight of the for-profit company.
Our specialty is converting smart policy ideas into action and getting them across the finish line through coalition building, political strategy, and hands-on advocacy. We strive to find common ground with organizations from across the political spectrum, including think tanks, organized labor, parents' groups, and faith leaders.
Ready to apply?
Submit one application through the joint hiring round form and select Encode as an organization you'd like to be considered by. Candidates who move forward will be asked to complete a work test, and Encode makes its own hiring decision.
For more on how the round works, including the other organizations hiring, see the full round description.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. This role may be closed without notice.