Hybrid Operations Program Manager, AI Infrastructure

at OpenAI

• Job title: Operations Program Manager, AI Infrastructure
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Senior, Lead
• Salary: $230,000 - $335,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Location requirements: Hybrid, San Francisco, United States

About the role

• Operations Program Manager leading operational strategies for AI infrastructure systems at OpenAI. Ensuring readiness and execution across new hardware introductions and production ramps.

Responsibilities

• Act as the single-threaded owner for operational readiness across NPI and ramp, accountable for outcomes from early bring-up through sustained production
• Translate OpenAI’s infrastructure strategy and engineering objectives into clear operating plans, execution priorities, and decision frameworks
• Drive alignment across Engineering, Operations, Strategic Sourcing, Finance, Capacity Planning, and Executive stakeholders by framing tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations
• Proactively identify inflection points where decisions or investments are required to protect long-term scale, reliability, or cost targets
• Influence operational strategy with manufacturing partners by setting expectations on execution rigor, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Drive overall NPI build readiness, including material accountability, manufacturing and test readiness, product data availability, factory infrastructure, and qualification plans
• Lead transition activities from NPI to mass production, partnering closely with Sustaining Operations teams to ensure seamless ownership transfer
• Translate engineering requirements into actionable, factory-ready plans with tier-1 manufacturing and integration partners
• Lead cross-functional build and debug cadences; ensure issues are clearly owned, aggressively driven, and formally closed with root cause and prevention
• Drive factory and deployment ramp readiness, including throughput, site readiness, yield targets, quality controls, and reliability gates
• Own end-to-end risk management—identification, mitigation planning, escalation, and executive-level communication
• Surface systemic bottlenecks, inefficiencies, or failure modes; propose and implement durable solutions across process, tooling, and organizational interfaces
• Build, formalize, and scale repeatable operating mechanisms that enable predictable, high-velocity hardware development
• Define requirements for operational systems (e.g., PLM enablement), and partner with internal teams to implement, test, and operationalize them
• Establish clear scopes, roles, and responsibilities across internal teams and external partners to ensure clean execution boundaries
• Build strong, trust-based relationships with contract manufacturers, OEMs, and integrators—driving accountability, performance, and transparency
• Support onsite factory builds and field deployments as needed (domestic and international travel)

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in Operations, Engineering, Program Management, or equivalent, within hardware development, manufacturing, or supply chain domains (compute, networking, datacenter, or similarly complex systems)
• Proven track record leading complex hardware NPI programs end-to-end, from early bring-up through production ramp
• Strong understanding of manufacturing and supply chain fundamentals, including BOM management, ECO/MCO processes, build readiness, factory test, quality controls, and material planning
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams, influence senior stakeholders, and drive decisions in ambiguous, time-compressed environments
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distill complex issues for executive and external audiences.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
• 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
• Mental health and wellness support
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
• Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
• Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.