Procurement Operations Lead

About the Team OpenAI's Industrial Compute organization is building and scaling the infrastructure required to support frontier AI. The Infrastructure Strategic Sourcing team connects technical and project requirements to supplier readiness, contracting, purchasing, equipment delivery, and portfolio-level risk visibility across owner-furnished contractor-installed equipment (OFCI), data center networking, rack systems and integration, fiber, cabling, optical interconnects, and related infrastructure. The team partners across Pre-Construction, Design, Construction, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Network Engineering, Hardware and Rack Delivery, Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, Legal, Finance, Accounts Payable, Logistics, and external suppliers. We build the operating mechanisms that keep sourcing decisions, purchase execution, long-lead equipment, network and fiber dependencies, rack readiness, and delivery commitments aligned to infrastructure schedules. About the Role We are seeking an Infrastructure Sourcing Operations Lead to own procurement operations across pre-construction, design, construction, and sourcing through purchase order issuance, while maintaining visibility through invoice resolution, production, logistics, delivery, installation, and readiness. The portfolio includes electrical and mechanical OFCI, networking equipment, rack systems and integration, fiber, cabling, optical interconnects, and other infrastructure required to bring capacity online. In this role, you will set priorities, make or escalate decisions that affect cost, supplier relationships, contractual position, and delivery schedules, and define the standards used by execution support for queue management, documentation, tracker maintenance, and recurring reporting. Success requires sound commercial and program judgment, operational rigor, systems thinking, and the ability to turn incomplete information across vendors, tools, and project teams into clear decisions, accountable

About the Role We’re looking for a Procurement Enablement Lead to improve how employees and stakeholders navigate procurement at OpenAI. This role partners across Procurement, Finance, Legal, Security, Privacy, and Enterprise Technology to simplify workflows, improve guidance, and support scalable procurement experiences across the procurement lifecycle. You’ll translate procurement policies and operational requirements into clearer processes, better-enabled systems, and more intuitive employee experiences that reduce friction while strengthening consistency and controls as OpenAI continues to grow. This role is ideal for someone who combines operational judgment, process design, and strong cross-functional partnership skills. You should be comfortable working in evolving environments where systems and workflows are still being built and continuously improved. A key part of the role will be identifying opportunities to use AI and automation to streamline workflows, reduce manual work, and improve service delivery across Procurement operations. This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days per week in the office and offer relocation assistance to new employees. In this role, you will: Partner across Procurement, Finance, Legal, Security, Privacy, and Enterprise Technology to improve how procurement work gets requested, routed, approved, and supported across the spend lifecycle. Help design and improve procurement intake, guidance, and workflow experiences that make it easier for employees and stakeholders to navigate procurement processes. Translate procurement policies, operational needs, stakeholder feedback, and operational insights into clear business requirements for workflows, automation, reporting, analytics, and process improvements. Partner with Enterprise Technology and tool owners to support workflow configuration improvements across procurement systems, including approvals, routing, SLAs, escalation paths, exception handlin

What you’ll do Own day-to-day operations for the scanner program and scanner builds in the spa: purchasing/procurement, vendor management, receiving, inventory, and logistics. Stand up lightweight production operations as we move from prototypes to repeatable builds: build planning, kitting, work instructions, and readiness checklists. Partner with Quality to ensure the operational system supports compliance: traceability, document control, training records, NCR/CAPA workflows, and audit readiness. Drive cross-functional execution for the physical spa build-out and scanner integration: schedules, dependencies, risk register, and weekly coordination with vendors and internal teams. Own the “integration glue” across facilities + device ops: commissioning plans, acceptance criteria, and operational handoff (runbooks, maintenance, spares, escalation paths). Build and track operational metrics: cost, budget, lead times, vendor performance, build throughput, and reliability of critical subsystems. Audit of import/export documentation, management of contract renewals, regulatory compliance. What we’re looking for Proven operations leadership in hardware/medical/robotics (or similarly complex electromechanical products), including procurement and vendor management. Strong program management instincts: can run schedules, unblock cross-functional dependencies, and keep priorities clear under ambiguity. Comfort operating in quality/regulatory environments and building processes that are rigorous without slowing a small team. High ownership and bias to action: can jump between spreadsheets, docks, and the lab/site to keep the program moving. Useful experience Experience running prototype-to-production transitions (NPI, EVT/DVT/PVT-style builds, CM/EMS collaboration). Facilities / construction operations experience (GC coordination, MEP commissioning, site readiness). Familiarity with inventory systems and procurement tooling (even “simple but disciplined”).

About the Team OpenAI is building Procurement of the future: one that uses AI-enabled systems, clean data, and scalable processes to help the business absorb increasing complexity, speed, volume, and throughput — while enabling teams across OpenAI to operate more strategically and at greater scale. The Hardware Procurement Operations team supports the operational flow of goods and hardware purchasing across OpenAI's hardware business units. We help teams turn business needs into controlled, accurate, and executable procurement activity, from request intake through purchase orders, supplier coordination, change management, receiving readiness, and downstream invoice support. As OpenAI scales, we are building procurement operations that can support changing hardware needs, new business unit priorities, and increasing operational complexity. That means creating practical standards where they help, preserving flexibility where the business requires it, and continuously improving how requests, suppliers, POs, data, and controls move through our systems. About the Role As a Senior Manager of Procurement Operations focused on Hardware, you will own procurement operations for one or more assigned hardware business units. You will be the day-to-day DRI for hardware and goods procurement activity, leading work from intake through purchase requests, POs, supplier needs, changes, receiving readiness, and operational escalations. This is a hands-on operator-builder role for someone who understands the practical complexity of hardware and goods procurement and can both run the work and redesign how the work gets done. You will keep work moving while improving the operating model through better systems, workflows, automation, AI-enabled processes, controls, metrics, and operating leverage. You will evaluate how people, process, policy, systems, data, fiscal controls, and accounting practices come together, and you will work closely with other Central Procurement and BU Procurement

About the Team The Procurement organization enables OpenAI's mission by ensuring every dollar is spent responsibly, compliantly, and efficiently. Within Procurement, the Center of Excellence (COE) team is responsible for designing and scaling the processes, systems, governance, and operating models that enable Procurement to grow effectively alongside the business. This role partners closely with Procurement and cross-functional teams to simplify how work gets requested, routed, approved, and managed across the spend lifecycle. By combining program leadership, process design, and change enablement, we help Procurement scale while maintaining strong controls and delivering an exceptional experience for employees and business partners. About the Role As Procurement Portfolio & Delivery Lead, you will lead complex, cross-functional initiatives that span Strategic Sourcing, Procure-to-Pay (P2P), Extended Workforce, Travel & Expense, Corporate Card, Risk, Legal, Finance, and Technology teams. You will not only drive project and program execution, but also actively contribute to solution design, requirements development, process optimization, testing, rollout planning, and stakeholder alignment. This is a highly collaborative role for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments, can bring structure to ambiguity, and is equally comfortable facilitating executive discussions, building project plans, and rolling up their sleeves to help move initiatives forward. This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. In this role, you will: Lead cross-functional procurement transformation programs spanning Strategic Sourcing, P2P, Extended Workforce, T&E, Corporate Card, Risk, and Procurement Systems. Develop and maintain the Procurement transformation roadmap, partnering across teams to identify opportunities, prioritize initiatives, map dependencies, sequence work

About the Team OpenAI’s Central Procurement – Hardware Operations team is building scalable, AI-enabled operating foundations for a rapidly growing hardware footprint. We help the business move quickly while maintaining the data quality and controls needed to manage financial and operational risk responsibly. As OpenAI scales across R&D, new-product introduction, manufacturing, and third-party custody models, we are building the foundations to absorb complexity without adding unnecessary friction. That means establishing practical standards, strengthening discipline where it matters, using AI thoughtfully, and continuously improving how teams manage hardware operations. About the Role We are hiring an Asset Compliance Program Lead to establish the cross-business framework that gives OpenAI reliable lifecycle visibility over hardware-related financial assets and capital equipment. You will define the controls, systems roadmap, and evidence practices needed to manage those assets within OpenAI’s financial-control scope. This is a senior individual-contributor role in Central Procurement – Hardware Operations within Finance. Distinct from sourcing and transaction execution, you will partner with hardware business units, Accounting, Financial Risk Management, Procurement, contract manufacturers, and other third-party custodians to deploy practical operating mechanisms. These mechanisms will connect how assets are purchased, built, received, moved, held, verified, and retired with the ownership, data, reporting, and evidence needed for financial governance. The role covers those assets regardless of location or custody, including manufacturing equipment and tooling, supplier- and contract-manufacturer-held assets, leased assets, and other third-party-held equipment. You will stay close to the operational details—how assets move, where records diverge, which controls are not working, and where evidence is incomplete—and use that view to strengthen processes, accountab