Compute Business Operations Lead at OpenAI

San Francisco, California, United States

OpenAI Logo
Not SpecifiedCompensation
Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Artificial Intelligence, TechnologyIndustries

Requirements

  • 7+ years of experience in strategy, business operations, private equity, management consulting, venture capital, or similar fields, with 2+ years spent operating inside a company
  • Excel at bringing clarity and structure to ambiguous problems and driving them to completion in fast-moving environments with multiple stakeholders and objectives
  • Able to see around the corner for future challenges and eager to solve them with a high sense of ownership, initiative, and agency
  • Proficiency building systems and proficiency that scale long-term
  • Communicate clearly with executives, engineers, and operators alike, adapting your approach to the audience
  • Are highly analytical and comfortable using data to inform decisions
  • Move fluidly between strategy and detail, balancing long-term vision with day-to-day execution
  • Build trust quickly, collaborate well across functions, and bring clarity to fast-moving environments
  • Are energized by OpenAI’s mission and the challenge of scaling world-class compute infrastructure

Responsibilities

  • Take end-to-end ownership of critical compute initiatives that span multiple teams and functions
  • Shape and operationalize programs that support OpenAI’s infrastructure scale-up, turning one-off efforts into repeatable systems
  • Collaborate with internal technical, product, finance, and operations teams and external compute partners to align priorities and deliver results
  • Build clear frameworks, reporting, and communication channels that help leadership make informed decisions
  • Identify gaps in how we plan and execute across the compute lifecycle, and design solutions that endure as we scale
  • Serve as a trusted partner to leadership, helping scope, prioritize, and execute the most important cross-functional compute projects

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

Project ManagementStrategic PlanningCross-Functional CollaborationOperations ExcellenceVendor NegotiationCompute InfrastructureData Center OperationsEnergy ProcurementStakeholder ManagementProgram OperationalizationReporting Frameworks

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

What is the salary for the Compute Business Operations Lead role?

The salary is $310K.

Is this role remote or based in an office?

This role is based in San Francisco, CA, with a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week. OpenAI offers relocation assistance to new employees.

What experience and skills are required for this position?

Candidates need 7+ years in strategy, business operations, private equity, management consulting, venture capital, or similar, with 2+ years operating inside a company. Key skills include bringing clarity to ambiguous problems, high ownership, building scalable systems, clear communication across audiences, analytical data-driven decisions, and balancing strategy with detail.

What is the team like at OpenAI's Industrial Compute team?

The Industrial Compute team secures and scales core resources for research and products, partnering across engineering, finance, legal, and operations to handle energy procurement, real estate, colocation, cloud providers, and silicon vendors for growth with speed, resilience, and cost-efficiency.

What makes a strong candidate for this role?

Strong candidates excel at structuring ambiguous problems in fast-moving environments, demonstrate high ownership and initiative, build scalable systems, communicate effectively with diverse audiences, and balance strategic vision with detailed execution.

OpenAI

Develops safe and beneficial AI technologies

About OpenAI

OpenAI develops and deploys artificial intelligence technologies aimed at benefiting humanity. The company creates advanced AI models capable of performing various tasks, such as automating processes and enhancing creativity. OpenAI's products, like Sora, allow users to generate videos from text descriptions, showcasing the versatility of its AI applications. Unlike many competitors, OpenAI operates under a capped profit model, which limits the profits it can make and ensures that excess earnings are redistributed to maximize the social benefits of AI. This commitment to safety and ethical considerations is central to its mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence (AGI) serves all of humanity.

San Francisco, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2015Year Founded
$18,433.2MTotal Funding
LATE_VCCompany Stage
AI & Machine LearningIndustries
1,001-5,000Employees

Benefits

Health insurance
Dental and vision insurance
Flexible spending account for healthcare and dependent care
Mental healthcare service
Fertility treatment coverage
401(k) with generous matching
20-week paid parental leave
Life insurance (complimentary)
AD&D insurance (complimentary)
Short-term/long-term disability insurance (complimentary)
Optional buy-up life insurance
Flexible work hours and unlimited paid time off (we encourage 4+ weeks per year)
Annual learning & development stipend
Regular team happy hours and outings
Daily catered lunch and dinner
Travel to domestic conferences

Risks

Elon Musk's legal battle may pose financial and reputational challenges for OpenAI.
Customizable ChatGPT personas could lead to privacy and ethical concerns.
Competitors like Anthropic raising capital may intensify market competition.

Differentiation

OpenAI's capped profit model prioritizes ethical AI development over unlimited profit.
OpenAI's AI models, like Sora, offer unique video creation from text descriptions.
OpenAI's focus on AGI aims to create AI systems smarter than humans.

Upsides

OpenAI's $6.6 billion funding boosts its AI research and computational capacity.
Customizable ChatGPT personas enhance user engagement and satisfaction.
OpenAI's 'Operator' AI agent could revolutionize workforce automation by 2025.

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