How to apply for Account Director, Government

About OpenAI

OpenAI is a frontier AI research and product company with teams working on alignment, policy, and security. It posts specific opportunities it considers high impact, including roles that help governments adopt AI. The company notes it does not necessarily recommend working at other positions there.

About the role

This is a full-cycle public-sector sales role leading OpenAI's government work across Australia and New Zealand, with additional priority opportunities in APAC. You build relationships with government leaders, set account strategy, and close complex deals, working with Sales, Solutions, Partnerships, Technical Success, Legal, Security, Policy, and Global Affairs. The work involves procurement, regulatory, security, sovereignty, and commercial environments.

A typical day

A typical day likely includes calls with ANZ government stakeholders, internal coordination with Sales, Solutions, Legal, Security, and Policy partners, and work on account strategy or proposals. You may also spend time on selected APAC opportunities and on moving customers from initial interest toward adoption. The job description does not specify daily routines, so ask the hiring team how the role splits time between ANZ and APAC and between external meetings and internal coordination.

Who OpenAI is looking for

• Has senior experience selling complex technology or AI products into government or public-sector accounts in ANZ.
• Can run a full sales cycle: build relationships, shape account strategy, create pipeline, and close multi-stakeholder deals.
• Understands public-sector procurement, regulatory, security, and sovereignty requirements, especially in Australia and New Zealand.
• Works well across functions and can coordinate technical, legal, policy, and security partners through long deal cycles.

Tips for this application

• Name specific ANZ government departments, agencies, or programs you have worked with, and describe the procurement or regulatory environment you navigated.
• Show a full-cycle deal example: how you built the relationship, shaped the account strategy, handled security or sovereignty concerns, and closed.
• Address the APAC remit directly. Explain which priority APAC markets or public-sector opportunities you can support and why.
• Reference OpenAI for Government (OAI4G) and its cross-functional model. Explain how you have worked with legal, security, policy, or technical success teams on public-sector deals.
• Keep the application focused on public-sector sales outcomes. Avoid generic AI enthusiasm; tie your experience to government adoption and responsible deployment.

What to cover in your cover letter

Lead with your ANZ government sales track record and the size or complexity of deals you closed. Explain how you handle procurement, regulatory, security, and sovereignty requirements in public-sector sales. Show how you work with cross-functional teams such as legal, security, policy, and technical success. State your ability to cover ANZ as the centre of gravity while supporting selected APAC opportunities.

Research before applying

• Read OpenAI's mission statement and the OpenAI for Government (OAI4G) team description on the job page and company site.
• Read the 80,000 Hours career review on working at a frontier AI lab, which the job description links to, and consider the concerns it raises.
• Research ANZ government AI policies, procurement rules, and sovereignty or security requirements that affect public-sector technology adoption.
• Check OpenAI's current product and policy announcements relevant to government use, and note any APAC public-sector activity.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would build and execute an account strategy for a major ANZ government department from first contact to closed deal.
• How you have handled public-sector procurement, security, sovereignty, or regulatory objections in a complex sale.
• How you work with legal, security, policy, and technical success teams during a long government sales cycle.
• How you would prioritize between ANZ accounts and selected APAC opportunities.
• What you know about OpenAI's products and how governments could adopt them responsibly.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating this as a general AI sales role and ignoring the government procurement, regulatory, security, and sovereignty context.
• Applying without evidence of full-cycle public-sector deals in ANZ or a clear explanation of how your experience transfers.
• Ignoring OpenAI's stated concerns about working at a frontier AI company, or failing to show you have thought about responsible government AI adoption.