Director, Leasing and Strategy, Real Estate & Workplace

About the Team

At OpenAI our Real Estate & Workplace (REW) team builds and manages the environments that power our innovation. We create spaces that are efficient scalable and aligned with our mission from strategic leasing decisions to the systems that keep our workplaces running smoothly. Joining this team means helping shape the environments where world-changing technology is built.

About the Role

Were seeking a Director of Leasing & Strategy to lead high-impact initiatives and shape the strategic direction of OpenAIs global real estate portfolio. This role will lead the real estate strategy and transactions team oversee complex transactions assess new opportunities manage portfolio risk and ensure leasing decisions align with OpenAIs long-term business and growth objectives. The ideal candidate brings deep leasing expertise strong financial acumen and the ability to build scalable systems operate effectively in ambiguity and translate complex tradeoffs into clear executive decisions and durable outcomes.

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:

• Define and drive global real estate strategy balancing cost flexibility speed and long-term growth.

• Lead and develop a high-performing team while building strong cross-functional partnerships across regions.

• Own end-to-end lease transactions (strategy site selection negotiation execution) and secure best-in-class outcomes.

• Act as a senior thought partner to executives shaping high-stakes decisions with clear data-driven recommendations.

• Develop portfolio strategies financial models and scenario analyses to inform investment decisions and tradeoffs.

• Build scalable frameworks playbooks and operating mechanisms that improve speed quality and consistency.

• Drive company-wide real estate decisions aligned to broader business talent and infrastructure strategy.

• Oversee portfolio governance (expirations risk obligations) and ensure proactive disciplined execution.

• Lead budgeting forecasting and reporting in partnership with Finance and Accounting ensuring strong controls.

• Drive alignment across Legal Workplace Finance Security EHS and other stakeholders on transactions and operations.

• Build analytics and reporting systems to improve visibility prioritization and portfolio performance.

• Establish strong external partnerships (landlords brokers operators) and leverage AI/tools to enhance execution and outcomes.

You might thrive in this role if you have:

• 812 years of experience leading corporate real estate transactions across commercial office and industrial/warehouse environments; in-house experience strongly preferred.

• Advanced expertise in lease negotiation and interpretation portfolio strategy financial modeling and risk assessment.

• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams in fast-paced environments while producing clear executive-ready recommendations and decision materials.

• Strong communication and judgment with the ability to navigate ambiguity influence stakeholders and independently solve complex problems.

• Ability to balance long-term strategic planning with hands-on execution moving seamlessly from portfolio strategy to detailed transaction and lease review.

Proficiency with AI-enabled tools Google and Microsoft Suites and lease administration systems.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core and to achieve our mission we must encompass and value the many different perspectives voices and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we do not discriminate on the basis of race religion color national origin sex sexual orientation age veteran status disability genetic information or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information please see OpenAIs Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary confidential and non-public addition job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

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Required Experience:

Director