Strategic Sourcing Leader Enterprise & Engineering Technology

About the Team

OpenAIs Strategic Sourcing team helps the company scale responsibly efficiently and at speed. We partner with technical and business leaders across Engineering Security IT Finance Legal and Privacy to shape supplier strategy negotiate critical agreements and build resilient supplier ecosystems that support OpenAIs mission.

Within Strategic Sourcing this team manages strategic supplier relationships across engineering platforms infrastructure software security technology enterprise systems IT and hardware. Our work connects technical roadmaps commercial strategy supplier leverage financial discipline operational resilience and security.

About the Role

OpenAI is seeking a Leader of Strategic Sourcing Enterprise & Engineering Technology to lead complex technology sourcing work across a portfolio critical to how our teams build secure operate and scale. This role will report to the Head of Strategic Sourcing.

This is a senior sourcing leadership role for a recognized expert who can shape category direction lead multiple complex workstreams influence senior stakeholders and solve high-stakes commercial problems with structured thinking and deep expertise. You will manage experienced sourcing professionals guide strategic supplier negotiations and help build scalable sourcing practices that strengthen OpenAIs growth.

You will partner closely with the CTO CISO IT Finance Legal Privacy and business organizations to translate technical needs security requirements supplier constraints adoption patterns and long-term operating priorities into clear sourcing strategies and commercial structures.

You will also build and improve the operating system for the category including category cards negotiation playbooks reporting mechanisms supplier governance coordinator workflows and executive communication rhythms. You will be at the forefront of enabling AI within sourcing workflows helping the team use AI to improve intake market analysis negotiation preparation reporting documentation and decision quality.

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 sourcing strategy and execution across enterprise and engineering technology categories including infrastructure software engineering platforms security technology enterprise systems IT and hardware.

• Independently define prioritize and lead multiple complex sourcing workstreams shaping supplier strategy and commercial decisions without regular oversight.

• Own strategic supplier negotiations including major renewals enterprise license agreements infrastructure software commitments security technology agreements engineering platform agreements and hardware-related sourcing decisions.

• Manage and develop experienced category leads creating clarity improving commercial judgment and empowering the team to deliver strategic goals without heavy managerial intervention.

• Build scalable category tools and frameworks including category cards negotiation playbooks supplier segmentation renewal calendars reporting dashboards and escalation paths.

• Partner with senior leaders across the CTO CISO and IT organizations to translate technical roadmaps security requirements platform dependencies adoption plans performance needs and supplier constraints into sourcing strategies and commercial structures.

• Advise senior leaders on major supplier decisions by presenting clear deal narratives financial impact risk tradeoffs supplier context and recommendations.

• Create cost and commercial structures aligned to OpenAIs business model including usage-based pricing flexible consumption models pooled commitments ramp structures scale protections and performance-based economics.

• Set direction for coordinators and category partners supporting quick-turn negotiations ensuring routine work moves quickly with consistent standards strong documentation and appropriate escalation.

• Establish supplier governance and portfolio reporting across pipeline health savings risk renewal exposure supplier performance forecast accuracy QBRs escalation management and value realization.

• Influence difficult or highly opinionated stakeholders by building trust clarifying tradeoffs creating alignment and positioning sourcing as a strategic partner in technical security and commercial decision-making.

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Are a recognized sourcing expert with deep experience across enterprise technology infrastructure software engineering tools security technology IT platforms hardware or adjacent technology categories.

• Have led complex high-stakes supplier negotiations and can balance cost leverage speed flexibility risk security requirements and long-term partnership value.

• Can independently lead multiple complex workstreams prioritize tradeoffs and shape strategic decisions in ambiguous environments.

• Have managed experienced sourcing professionals or category leads and know how to build clarity accountability ownership and sustainable team performance.

• Can influence senior stakeholders and mentor peers through strong communication structured thinking commercial judgment and calm leadership.

• Have built scalable sourcing tools or operating mechanisms such as category cards negotiation playbooks reporting dashboards supplier governance models or renewal planning processes.

• Know how to create commercial models that go beyond standard enterprise pricing and reflect usage growth technical adoption platform dependency security requirements and OpenAIs business model.

• Care deeply about responsible growth disciplined supplier management inclusive leadership and building sourcing as a strategic lever for OpenAI.

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:

IC