About this role
As AI agents expand from answering simple questions to taking actions across the internet, the absence of clear standards for identity, delegated authority, and auditability threatens to stall safe interoperability. OpenAI needs an Agent Standards Architect to resolve this problem by leading the execution of an external technical standards strategy across assigned workstreams. This role sits within the Global Affairs team and acts as an integrator between technical internal groups like Agent Security and Product, and external technical forums.
The person who takes on this role will author and negotiate protocols, build coalitions, secure internal approvals, and represent the organization in venues like the IETF, W3C, and NIST. Success requires strong judgment in ambiguous environments, the ability to translate internal architecture into credible specifications, and comfort communicating with engineers, lawyers, and external stakeholders alike.
What you will do
- Manage a focused workstream plan for core agent identity, discovery, and delegated-authorization standards.
- Recommend where the organization should lead, shape, monitor, oppose, or decline participation based on technical maturity and strategic priorities.
- Develop technical standards positions and normative contributions that preserve distinctions among principals, agents, workloads, and sessions.
- Embed with Agent Security and product teams to translate internal architecture and controls into technical specifications and assurance evidence.
- Lead review and approval paths across product, security, engineering, legal, GRC, and go-to-market teams.
- Represent the company in priority venues and coalitions such as IETF, OAuth-related work, FIDO, OIDF, W3C, AAIF, and NIST or ISO efforts.
- Bring external standards intelligence back into product, security, and compliance decisions to avoid retrofit or market-access friction.
What you need
- Demonstrated experience in technical standards, internet protocols, identity and access, security architecture, applied cryptography, or closely related infrastructure work.
- Background in authoring, editing, or materially shaping normative specifications, profiles, drafts, or conformance requirements in technical standards or open-source governance settings.
- Working knowledge of OAuth and OIDC, FIDO or WebAuthn, workload identity, HTTP signatures, delegated authority, and auditability.
- Ability to distinguish between adopted standards, stable extensions, active drafts, and exploratory ideas to adjust company posture accordingly.
- Capacity to earn trust with engineers and security leaders while communicating crisply with lawyers, product leads, and policymakers.
- Strong judgment in ambiguous environments with the ability to lead, compromise, oppose, escalate, or walk away.
Benefits
- Offers Equity
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
Where is this job located?
This position is based in Washington, DC.
What is the salary range for this role?
The salary ranges from $171K to $280K with offers of equity included.
What teams will this architect work with internally?
This position works closely with Agent Security, Applied and Platform teams, Product, Legal, GRC, Global Affairs, and GTM.