Regional State and Local Affairs Lead, Southern States

Job Application for Regional State and Local Affairs Lead, Southern States at Anthropic

Back to jobs New Regional State and Local Affairs Lead, Southern States Remote-Friendly (Travel-Required) | Washington, DC

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

We are looking for a State and Local Affairs Lead to lead Anthropic's engagement with state and local governments across the Southern United States, advancing AI policy, legislation, and regulation that supports Anthropic's mission of ensuring that the world safely makes the transition through transformative AI.

In this role, you will work closely with Anthropic's Southern Regional State and Local Lead, as well as coordinate with our Policy leadership, Communications, and Legal teams. You will own Anthropic's relationships and legislative and regulatory work across the South—engagement with state legislatures, governors' offices, attorneys general, state agencies, and local governments. You will be based in Texas and will travel regularly across the region.

Successful candidates will demonstrate a track record of political strategy and execution—with specific examples of how you have contributed to complex policy campaigns, built durable relationships with elected officials and community leaders, supported legislative and regulatory outcomes, and executed with accountability and focus in fast-paced environments.

Anthropic is equal parts research lab, policy think-tank, and technology startup. We care deeply about safe development of AI systems, and build partnership with governments through proactive, opinionated, substantive policy conversations. We recognize that our approach to AI policy is genuinely distinctive in the marketplace—grounded in honest assessment of technological trajectories and authentic concern for safe scaling—and we need a regional lead who can bring that positioning to life at the state and local level.

This role offers an opportunity to be part of building a high-impact state affairs operation at a critical moment for AI policy. You will be responsible for executing on strategic priorities across your region, building relationships with government stakeholders, and contributing to the broader state affairs function.

Key responsibilities

Serve as Anthropic's lead for state and local government affairs across the Southern United States, working in close coordination with the other Regional State and Local Affairs Leads

Build and maintain relationships with state legislators, legislative staff, governors' offices, attorneys general, and state agency leaders across your region

Engage directly with local officials whose decisions affect Anthropic's work—mayors, city councils, county commissions, and economic development boards

Track state and local legislation and regulatory proceedings affecting AI and the technology sector, provide analysis and intelligence to inform company strategy, and represent Anthropic's positions

Build durable partnerships with local and regional organizations, including chambers of commerce, economic development groups, labor organizations, universities, and school districts

Represent Anthropic at legislative hearings, regional events, and public forums, including with audiences who are skeptical of AI

Work with the Communications team to develop clear, accurate messaging for regional policy campaigns

Translate Anthropic's technical research and policy positions into engagement strategies tailored to Southern state political environments

Manage the outside advisors and registered lobbyists who support Anthropic's work in your region

Coordinate with Anthropic's policy, communications, legal, and executive teams to ensure that regional activity aligns with company-wide positioning

Minimum qualifications

Align with our mission and embrace the imperative of policy impact and change

Have experience in state and local government affairs, political strategy, or legislative roles, with demonstrated success contributing to legislative and regulatory outcomes

Are based in Texas, or are willing to relocate, and are prepared to travel regularly across the region

Have existing relationships with state and local leaders in Texas and other Southern states, including legislators, governors' offices, attorneys general, or county and municipal officials

Understand how state legislatures and executive branches work—committee processes, legislative and regulatory procedures, and how to move policy forward—and understand where local authority begins and ends

Have a track record of executing on strategic objectives and delivering measurable outcomes in government affairs roles

Have experience building partnerships with external organizations including chambers of commerce, economic development groups, labor organizations, and universities

Demonstrate understanding of how to build coalitions and identify aligned constituencies to advance shared objectives

Can manage multiple priorities and stakeholder relationships across different states and adapt to different political environments

Have the ability to work under time pressure and manage competing demands in high-stakes environments

Can translate complex technical topics into clear, accessible language for policymakers and residents alike

Have experience working with communications teams to develop effective messaging for policy campaigns

Are comfortable being honest about tradeoffs, including in rooms where people disagree with us

Preferred qualifications

8+ years of experience in state and local government affairs, political strategy, or legislative roles

Exposure to technology policy or emerging technology regulation, and an understanding of the unique challenges of navigating policy for rapidly evolving technologies

Drawn to working with an organization that approaches AI policy with intensity and intellectual honesty

The annual compensation range for this role is listed below.

For sales roles, the range provided is the role’s On Target Earnings ("OTE") range, meaning that the range includes both the sales commissions/sales bonuses target and annual base salary for the role.

Annual Salary: $230,000 -...