Senior Manager, Procurement Operations

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 while managing risk responsibly. The Procurement Operations team supports the operational flow of purchasing across OpenAI, helping teams turn business needs into complete, policy-aligned, and executable procurement activity. We partner across Procurement, Finance, Legal, Security, Accounting, Accounts Payable, Systems, and business teams to improve how requests, suppliers, purchase orders, approvals, data, documentation, and downstream handoffs move through our systems. As OpenAI scales, we are building procurement operations that can absorb increasing complexity without adding unnecessary friction. That means using AI thoughtfully, simplifying where we can, strengthening operating discipline where we must, and continuously improving how our stakeholders experience procurement. ABOUT THE ROLE We are hiring two Senior Managers, Procurement Operations to manage the operational backbone of how OpenAI turns requests into committed, controlled, and payable spend. One role will focus on Technology categories, and the other will focus on Corporate Services categories. These roles are not removed from the work. You will be expected to review requests in the system, make or guide request and PO updates, resolve operational issues, and use that firsthand view to identify what needs to change. You will push the envelope without losing the thread on risk, staying close enough to the details to understand where friction, ambiguity, and control gaps show up. You will help improve procurement outcomes across intake, purchase requests, PO quality, supplier coordination, approval workflows, documentation, service delivery, and downstream financial handoffs. You will oversee and improve operating effectiveness across existing controls and lifecycle processes, using data, AI-enabled tools, automation, and strong judgment to reduce friction while improving compliance, accountability, and speed. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR: We’re looking for someone who can both operate and improve the system. This person will be hands-on in procurement operations while helping build the next version of how the work gets done: clearer standards, stronger operating discipline, cleaner data, smarter workflows, and more AI-enabled ways of working. The right person brings critical thinking, strong relationship management, high attention to detail, and the ability to see patterns across requests, stakeholder friction, system gaps, and risk signals. They can help move Procurement Operations toward a more scalable, exception-based operating model without losing speed or control. You bring: - 7+ years of procurement operations, P2P, sourcing operations, finance operations, supply chain operations, business operations, or related experience in a fast-moving environment. - High AI fluency, with demonstrated ability to use AI tools to improve how work gets done, reduce manual effort, strengthen analysis, improve documentation, and create scalable operating leverage. - Experience leading cross-functional operational programs with measurable improvements in service quality, operating effectiveness, cycle time, compliance, or stakeholder experience. - Advanced procurement operations judgment and the ability to independently resolve complex tasks while knowing when to seek guidance on higher-risk issues. - Strong understanding of how procurement decisions affect downstream financial outcomes, supplier experience, accounting accuracy, invoice readiness, commitment visibility, and business velocity. - Strong systems orientation, with experience using procurement, ERP, intake, ticketing, supplier, or workflow tools such as Zip, Oracle, Coupa, SAP, NetSuite, Jira, ServiceNow, or similar platforms. - High attention to detail and a strong sense of ownership for documentation quality, fiscal controls, audit readiness, and operating discipline. - Ability to identify patterns in operational issues and translate them into better processes, standards, workflows, and system improvements. - Practical judgment around AI adoption: knowing where AI can accelerate work, where human review matters, and how to build trust in new ways of working. - Comfort working across Procurement, Finance, Legal, Security, Accounting, Accounts Payable, Systems, and business stakeholders. - Clear communication skills and the ability to explain tradeoffs between speed, control, policy, and risk in a practical, enablement-focused way. - Ability to operate in ambiguity, bring structure to evolving processes, and raise the bar as the business scales. IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL: - Lead cross-functional procurement operations programs that support business priorities and functional strategy. - Own end-to-end execution of complex procurement operations initiatives across intake, request review, request updates, PO creation, PO maintenance, supplier coordination, approvals, documentation, and downstream handoffs. - Review requests in procurement systems, make or guide request and PO updates, resolve operational issues, and use those patterns to improve how the lifecycle works. - Design scalable processes, metrics, operating cadences, control checkpoints, and AI-enabled workflows that reduce friction while improving compliance, accountability, and operating effectiveness. - Identify recurring operational issues, separate symptoms from root causes, and build systems, playbooks, or process improvements that prevent repeat problems. - Partner with business stakeholders to clarify requirements, resolve blockers, and keep procurement activity moving with the right level of control. - Balance urgent business needs with policy requirements, approval controls, auditability, financial accuracy, and responsible risk management. - Improve service delivery and operating leverage in measurable ways, including cycle time, PO quality, exception rates, documentation completeness, invoice readiness, commitment visibility, and close readiness. - Work closely with Procurement, Finance, Legal, Security, Accounting, AP, and Systems teams to improve handoffs, governance, reporting, and stakeholder experience. - Build practical documentation, SOPs, playbooks, dashboards, templates, self-service guidance, and intake logic that make procurement easier to navigate. - Influence stakeholders without formal authority, driving alignment through clear communication, sound judgment, and strong relationships. - Mentor peers and junior teammates by raising execution quality, sharing context, and modeling thoughtful decision-making in ambiguous situations. YOU MIGHT THRIVE IN THIS ROLE IF YOU: - Are energized by challenging current ways of working and building better operating models without creating unnecessary process. - Are already using AI tools to improve quality, speed, analysis, documentation, or decision support. - Care about creating clean, scalable foundations that allow teams to move faster with more confidence. - Enjoy turning operational complexity into clear standards, better workflows, stronger operating discipline, and smarter systems. - Are comfortable being hands-on while also improving the system, process, and operating model around the work. - Can balance a high bar for accuracy, risk management, and control with a practical, enablement-focused approach to helping the business move quickly. - Operate with ownership, humility, and a builder mindset. You improve the system, strengthen operating discipline, and make the work easier for others to execute well. 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. 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 OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement https://cdn.openai.com/policies/eeo-policy-statement.pdf. 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. 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