The Role
Build and manage relationships with legislators, regulators, agencies, civil society, and industry groups. Promote Bluesky and AT Protocol adoption among public-sector stakeholders, monitor technology legislation and regulation, and translate policy developments into recommendations. Partner with legal, trust and safety, product, communications, and leadership teams on policy engagement. Define success metrics, report results, and manage external consulting workstreams. Regular travel to Washington, DC is expected.
Summary Generated by Built In
Bluesky's vision is to make social more like the web itself. We're building a social media app, but beyond that, we've created a protocol that supports a broad ecosystem of applications and clients. Imagine a network of applications - from microblogging to photos to video to long-form writing - all interconnected and accessible with a shared identity.
About the Role:
Bluesky is where a growing number of governments, agencies, and elected officials reach the public directly. As our Government Relations Manager, you'll be the connective tissue between Bluesky and the public sector, spanning legislators and their staff, regulators, government communications teams, civil society, and beyond.
You should be equally comfortable briefing a legislative staffer, walking a regulator through how AT Protocol and decentralized moderation actually work, or sitting with our product and trust & safety teams to shape how we respond to new legislation. You'll work closely with company leadership, and cross-functionally with legal, trust & safety, product, and comms to make Bluesky a trusted, well-understood voice in the conversations that shape the open social web.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop and manage relationships with key stakeholders across government: legislators and their staff, regulators, agency communications teams, and civil society and industry groups.
- Grow government understanding and adoption of Bluesky and AT Protocol, helping officials and agencies reach the public reliably.
- Monitor and analyze legislation and regulation affecting social platforms and open protocols, including online safety, privacy, age assurance, and interoperability, and flag what matters early.
- Work cross-functionally with legal, trust & safety, product, and comms to translate policy developments into actionable recommendations, and advocate for workable outcomes internally and externally.
- Define success metrics for government relations, track your inputs and outputs, and report clearly on what's working - your analysis will inform our priorities and resource allocation.
- Manage workstreams with external consulting agencies on government-related projects.
You might be a good fit if you:
- Have 5+ years of experience in government relations, public policy, or public affairs, ideally touching technology or media.
- Have deep knowledge of how tech policy gets made, with existing relationships in government and the ability to build new ones quickly.
- Have worked in high-velocity startup environments where you ship fast and iterate often.
- Are fluent in social. You don't just "manage stakeholders," you get the internet.
- Have a track record of leading engagement that moved the needle on product adoption, a regulatory relationship, or how an organization is understood by policymakers.
- Can operate autonomously, move fast, and deliver results in ambiguous spaces.
We're especially excited if you:
- Are already familiar with Bluesky, AT Protocol, or the decentralized social landscape.
- Have experience with online safety, privacy, or platform regulation in more than one jurisdiction, such as the US, UK, or EU.
- Have worked directly in government, on a legislative staff, at a regulator, or in an agency.
- Can show us examples of policy engagement you've led: briefings, consultation responses, or campaigns.
Additional Notes:
- Regular travel to DC expected
- The anticipated contract range for this position is $100–$110 an hour USD
- Join our team and help shape the future of social!
Skills Required
- 5+ years of experience in government relations, public policy, or public affairs
- Deep knowledge of technology policy-making and existing government relationships
- Experience working in high-velocity startup environments
- Fluency in social media and internet culture
- Track record of leading engagement that influenced product adoption, regulatory relationships, or policymaker understanding
- Ability to operate autonomously, move quickly, and deliver results in ambiguous environments
- Familiarity with Bluesky, AT Protocol, or decentralized social networks
- Experience with online safety, privacy, or platform regulation across multiple jurisdictions, such as the US, UK, or EU
- Direct experience in government, on legislative staff, at a regulator, or in an agency
- Examples of policy engagement led, such as briefings, consultation responses, or campaigns
Am I A Good Fit?
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.
Success! Refresh the page to see how your skills align with this role.
The Company
What We Do
Welcome to the Social Internet. Bluesky is social media as it should be. Find your community among millions of users, unleash your creativity, and have some fun again. We're building a new foundation for social networking which gives creators independence from platforms, developers the freedom to build, and users a choice in their experience.
