About the RoleWe are looking for an exceptional Program Manager to help build durable operating systems and run some of OpenAI's most complex safety operations. The core need is a high-agency operator who can take an ambiguous problem, create the right structure, align cross-functional partners, and drive the work through execution.
This role will move across Critical Harm priorities as needs evolve. You may step into operationalizing national security or violent-activities workflows, support wellbeing and Frontier Risk initiatives, or help scale programs such as Trusted Access. Deep domain expertise is helpful but not required; the strongest candidates will learn quickly, exercise excellent judgment, and make complex programs move.
In this role, you will:- Lead strategic operational builds across priority workflows from problem statement to implemented operating model, including scope, owners, milestones, risks, success measures, and execution cadence.
- Translate policy, safety, technical, legal, and operational constraints into workflows, requirements, playbooks, escalation paths, and decision-making structures that teams can execute.
- Coordinate with User Ops leadership, Product Policy, Integrity, Safety Systems, i2, Legal, Product, Engineering, Support, vendors, and other partners to resolve dependencies and keep critical work moving.
- Move in and out of workflows as priorities shift-standing up new programs, stabilizing operations, improving handoffs, and transitioning durable ownership to the right team.
- Use operational data and frontline signals to identify bottlenecks, quality gaps, capacity needs, ownership failures, and the highest-leverage interventions.
- Drive high-priority escalations and cross-functional decisions to closure, ensuring the right context, accountable owners, clear next steps, and durable follow-up.
- Create the mechanisms that make programs run well: roadmaps, decision logs, status updates, risk registers, operating reviews, and crisp executive communication.
- Identify where AI tools, automation, lightweight systems, or simpler workflows can improve speed, consistency, and scale while preserving appropriate human judgment.
You might thrive in this role if you:- Have 8+ years of experience in program management, strategy and operations, product operations, technical program management, trust and safety, support operations, risk operations, implementation, or a related field.
- Have a track record of taking complex, ambiguous work from problem framing through launch and scaled operation.
- Are unusually organized, sharp, and execution-focused; you can manage many moving pieces without losing the few decisions that matter most.
- Build trust and drive alignment across teams without direct authority, while keeping ownership, accountability, and escalation paths clear.
- Are technically and analytically fluent enough to reason about data flows, dashboards, tooling gaps, automation, and failure modes-even if you are not writing production code.
- Communicate clearly with technical, operational, policy, and executive audiences, especially when tradeoffs are sensitive or evidence is incomplete.
- Operate calmly and flexibly in a fast-moving environment, learn new domains quickly, and are comfortable handling high-severity or sensitive work.
- Experience with vendor operations, QA programs, launch readiness, workflow automation, or AI-assisted operations.
Nice to have:- Experience in customer support or other high-stakes scaled operations.
- Deep expertise with national security, violence or other severe-harm domains.
