Public Policy Associate

Perplexity; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 185,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Perplexity in Washington, DC seeks a Public Policy Associate to drive policy engagement with Congress, the executive branch, and policy groups. You will map stakeholders, advance Perplexity positions in meetings, and provide policy intelligence to product, legal, and communications teams.

Based in DC, you will work four days a week in the office, lead Hill briefings and events, and help shape Perplexity's AI policy narrative across think tanks, trade associations, and civil society.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years of professional policy experience, including time on Capitol Hill.
• External lobbying experience or in-house government affairs experience.
• Strong Washington network you built yourself.
• Ability to run large Hill staff briefings and receptions end to end.
• Strong writing; produce briefing books and talking points.
• Sound judgment in representing a company in policy rooms.
• Genuine curiosity about AI policy and Perplexity's work.
• Willingness to work a DC schedule with travel.
• Based in Washington, D.C., in office four days a week.

Responsibilities

• Execute policy communications strategy; turn positions into talking points, backgrounders, and rapid responses.
• Build and maintains relationships with Hill staff, executive branch staff, and associations.
• Advocate directly: attend meetings, deliver positions, track bills and rulemakings.
• Run Washington events footprint: Hill briefings, roundtables, demos, receptions, dinners.
• Represent Perplexity in coalitions and working groups and capture feedback.
• Collaborate with think tanks and civil society on convenings and research launches.
• Prepare leaders for DC engagements with briefing books and summaries.

Skills

Policy communications

Relationship building

Event execution

Public speaking / advocacy

Strategic thinking

Job description

About Perplexity

Perplexity is AI for people who expect more. More accuracy. More agency. More signal, less noise. Our answer engine handles hundreds of millions of queries every month for people whose questions spark change and whose decisions bend the world toward progress. As our footprint grows, so does the number of policymakers, agencies, and civil society leaders who want to understand what we are building and how we think.

About Perplexity

Perplexity is AI for people who expect more. More accuracy. More agency. More signal, less noise. Our answer engine handles hundreds of millions of queries every month for people whose questions spark change and whose decisions bend the world toward progress. As our footprint grows, so does the number of policymakers, agencies, and civil society leaders who want to understand what we are building and how we think.

About The Role

We're hiring a Public Policy Associate in Washington, D.C. to sit at the center of Perplexity's engagement with Congress, the executive branch, trade associations, think tanks, and the broader D.C. ecosystem. This work happens where Washington happens, in Hill offices, in coalition meetings across town, and at the occasional evening event where the conversations that matter most actually take place. This is a relationship heavy, execution heavy seat. You've already worked both sides of the table, once inside a congressional office and once representing an organization before Congress, and you know how policy actually moves. Our Comms team and executive leadership set the strategy; you're our boots on the ground who makes it real. You'll build the stakeholder map, carry our message into the rooms that matter, and bring back what policymakers are saying, so that Perplexity shows up early, credibly, and consistently on the policy questions shaping AI. This role reports to the Senior Director, Product, Privacy & Regulatory Legal.

What You'll Do

• Execute our policy communications strategy set by our Comms and executive leadership teams. Turn company positions into talking points, event backgrounders, and rapid response, and feed intelligence back to our legal, policy, and product teams.
• Build and hold relationships with Hill staff in personal offices and on committees, executive branch staff, trade associations, think tanks, and civil society organizations.
• Advocate directly. Take meetings, deliver our positions, and follow bills and rulemakings that affect Perplexity, working within the company's lobbying disclosure and ethics requirements.
• Run our D.C. event footprint. Hill staff briefings, roundtables, product demos, receptions, dinners, and off sites. Own guest lists, venues, run of show, and follow up.
• Represent Perplexity in coalitions and trade association working groups. Track what's being said, flag what matters, and bring our point of view into the conversation.
• Partner with think tanks and civil society groups on convenings, research launches, and joint programming.
• Prepare our leaders for D.C. engagements. Briefing books, meeting prep, and post meeting recaps that actually get read.

What We're Looking For

• At least 3 years of professional experience, including time on Capitol Hill in a personal office or on a committee is strongly preferred.
• External lobbying experience, either at a government relations or law firm representing clients, or in house at a company. Registered lobbying experience under the Lobbying Disclosure Act is strongly preferred.
• A real Washington network you built yourself, and the instinct to keep growing it.
• Event execution. You can run a 20 person Hill staff briefing or a 150 person reception end to end without anything slipping.
• Strong writing. You can turn a meeting into a two paragraph readout and a briefing book into something a principal will actually use.
• Sound judgment. You know what to escalation, what to handle, and how to represent a company in a room without a script.
• Genuine curiosity about AI policy and the substance of what Perplexity is building. You don't need to be a technologist, but you do need to want to learn.
• Comfort with the pace. Mornings, days, and evenings. This is a role for someone energized by the D.C. schedule.
• Based in Washington, D.C. and in office four days a week, with occasional travel.

BONUS

• Hill experience on judiciary, commerce, intelligence, or AI focused portfolios.
• Experience staffing a principal at a company, agency, or trade association.
• Existing relationships across the AI and tech policy community in D.C.

Compensation Range: $185K - $200K