Head of Trade Compliance & Operations 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
Technology, AIIndustries

Requirements

  • 12+ years of experience in customs, COO determinations, substantial transformation, HTS classification, and import compliance
  • JD or trade counsel background (highly preferred)
  • Experience building global trade programs in high-growth or hardware environments (0 to 1 experience is a bonus)
  • Deep knowledge of HTS classification, customs valuation rules, export-control law, and preferential trade agreements
  • Track record of managing customs and export compliance interactions and disputes
  • Hands-on experience implementing or managing trade compliance software and ERP modules (e.g., SAP GTS, Descartes, Amber Road/E2Open, OCR)
  • Experience thriving in ambiguity, building from 0 to 1, and driving automation over manual processes
  • Strong communication skills and the ability to influence senior partners in operations, legal, engineering, and policy

Responsibilities

  • Advise on global trade strategy across country-of-origin (COO) planning, tariff exposure, and global supply chain structure for compute and R&D initiatives
  • Review supplier contracts with a focus on tariff, duty, and trade compliance provisions
  • Ensure customs valuation is aligned with transfer pricing frameworks
  • Select, configure, and manage global trade compliance software and ERP integrated trade modules to ensure systemic classification/COO/valuation logic
  • Establish data integrity, automation, and reporting frameworks for import/export records and classification data
  • Lead customs and import operations, including HTS classification, customs broker management, clearance operations, customs inquiries/disputes, and audit readiness
  • Build our export compliance program, policies, and procedures, including classification, licensing, recordkeeping, investigations, and enforcement responses
  • Develop global internal controls, risk monitoring, and audit frameworks that scale with the business
  • Partner with Hardware Engineering, Supply Chain, Logistics, Tax, and Legal to embed trade considerations in manufacturing and sourcing choices
  • Build and lead a high-performing trade compliance and import operations team that scales with OpenAI’s growth

Skills

Trade Compliance
Customs Valuation
HTS Classification
Export Controls
Tariff Management
Supply Chain
ERP Integration
Trade Software
COO Planning
Customs Broker Management
Audit Readiness
Transfer Pricing

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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