Safety Policy Lead, Youth Safety

About the role

Discord is looking for a Safety Policy Lead to manage youth safety policies. This role focuses on the full policy lifecycle, from initial problem identification to ensuring effective enforcement. You will address critical issues like child sexual abuse material, grooming, and child exploitation.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Research and develop safety policies for youth, covering child sexual abuse material (CSAM), grooming, child exploitation, and age verification.
• Manage the entire policy lifecycle, including problem definition, data justification, cross-functional consultation, enforcement testing, and post-launch feedback.
• Collaborate with the Legal team to integrate compliance requirements from KOSA, COPPA, DSA Article 28, and the Online Safety Act into policy design.
• Work with Trust and Safety, Engineering, and Machine Learning teams to build enforcement infrastructure, such as datasets and classification systems.
• Drive policy revisions based on feedback from implementation and quality assurance findings.
• Engage with external child safety organizations like NCMEC and ICAC, representing Discord's position.
• Provide rapid policy responses to new child safety threats, coordinating during incidents and regulatory notifications.
• Own an additional functional area for the Safety Policy team, such as policy implementation systems, AI/LLM governance, or safety-by-design frameworks.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience developing policy, not just enforcing it, in trust and safety or child protection at a technology platform or civil society organization.
• Deep knowledge of youth safety topics including CSAM, NCMEC/ICAC frameworks, hash-matching systems, grooming patterns, age assurance, and online regulations for minors.
• Direct experience with KOSA, COPPA, DSA child safety provisions, or the Online Safety Act.
• Demonstrated ability to write policies that are effective in implementation, with clear criteria and guidance.
• Experience collaborating with ML and automation teams to translate policy into detection signals.
• Ability to make decisions effectively under pressure and in ambiguous situations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for diverse audiences, from moderators to executives.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.

Nice to have

• Advanced degree in law, public policy, child development, psychology, or a related field.
• Familiarity with Discord's platform, gaming, or creator communities.
• Multilingual abilities relevant to Discord's global user base.

Practical notes

• This role involves regular exposure to disturbing content, including child sexual abuse material and exploitation. Wellness support is provided.
• Expected travel: 15%.
• Candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to Los Angeles.
• The US base salary range is $192,000 to $216,000, plus equity and benefits. Individual pay is determined by skills, experience, and education.