Tech Policy Strategist (AI for Democracy Action Lab)

About the Role

Protect Democracy seeks an experienced, highly motivated Tech Policy Strategist to drive change at the intersection of artificial intelligence and American democracy. This role is designed to scale the AI for Democracy Action Lab, Protect Democracy’s multidisciplinary, nonpartisan “action tank” that builds tech tools and shapes law and policy to safeguard and enhance democracy in the AI era. Together with allies in the field, the AI for Democracy Action Lab seeks not only to defend against AI’s dangers but to seize its possibilities for strengthening self-government in the U.S.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic campaign development and execution: Design and lead cross-ideological campaigns to advance AI policy solutions at the state and federal levels, focusing on issues like domestic mass surveillance and data aggregation in the AI era, electoral infrastructure cybersecurity against AI-enabled threats, and content provenance for synthetic content.
• Coalition building: Identify and organize diverse stakeholders—including NGO allies, tech platforms, civil society leaders (e.g., business leaders and former government officials), and experts—to build broad-based support for pro-democracy AI and data governance.
• Policy innovation and advancement: Generate and hone creative policy proposals and analysis on topics such as AI-enabled surveillance, data governance, and AI transparency, accounting for these policies’ technical feasibility and constitutionality. Work with legislators, their staffs, agency leaders, experts, and coalition partners to advance pro-democracy tech policy reforms at the state and federal levels.
• Serving as a trusted resource: Act as a nonpartisan advisor to AI labs and government regulators, providing expert analysis on how AI impacts the civic trust and shared reality necessary for self-government.

Qualifications

This is a role for experienced candidates. Ideal candidates bring significant AI policy or platform expertise paired with advocacy experience or orientation, with a demonstrated interest and track record working in cross-ideological coalitions and the ability to engage with legislative offices and partners on the right, center, and left of the political spectrum.

Our Commitment to Diversity

At Protect Democracy, we believe that diversity isn’t just a strength—it’s a necessity for tackling the complex challenges facing our country today. A broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences strengthen our ability to analyze problems, craft solutions, and drive meaningful change. We strongly encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds and from across the political and ideological spectrum to apply.