Description
We are seeking a Strategic Operations Lead to drive new and existing strategic operating builds across User Safety & Risk Operations. This is a senior IC role for someone who can turn broad, undefined priorities into clear operating models, launch plans, requirements, stakeholder alignment, documentation, reporting, and execution rhythms.
This role will often support initiatives where OpenAI is developing new products or partnerships and the operating model is still being defined. These programs have a direct user safety and risk nexus because new deployment models can change what signals OpenAI can see, who owns response decisions, and how user-impacting risks are detected, escalated, and resolved.
In this role, you will lead strategic operational builds from ambiguous problem statement to implemented operating model, including scope, owners, workflows, milestones, risks, and success measures. You will build launch and early-life operating models for complex partner deployments, including monitoring cadence, escalation paths, ownership maps, reporting expectations, and follow-up mechanisms.
You will translate technical, policy, safety, privacy, and operational constraints into practical workflows that teams can execute. You will define how safety and risk signals should be monitored, reviewed, packaged, escalated, and tracked through resolution.
You will partner with senior leaders across USRO and cross-functional teams to translate business, product, safety, and operational needs into clear execution plans. You will use data and operational signals to understand workflow health, capacity needs, bottlenecks, quality gaps, and risks.
You will identify where AI tools, automation, lightweight systems, or better workflows can reduce operational burden and improve consistency. You will keep operating models current as data pipelines, tooling, dashboards, partner processes, and ownership mature.
To succeed in this role, you will need 8+ years of experience in operations, strategy and operations, product operations, technical program management, trust and safety operations, risk operations, implementation or management consulting, or a related field.
You will have a track record of leading complex, ambiguous work from problem framing through execution. You will have strong technical fluency, including the ability to reason through data flows, system ownership, logs, dashboards, tooling gaps, and failure modes.
You will be able to work closely with Product, Engineering, Data Science, and technical operations teams; ask the right questions; and translate technical constraints into operational requirements.
You will be pragmatic about sequencing: know what must be ready for launch, what can be monitored before action is taken, and what needs to become durable over time.
You will be AI-fluent, with a track record of using AI tools to move faster, improve quality, or create operational leverage.
You will have strong interpersonal judgment, with the ability to build trust across teams while keeping ownership, accountability, and escalation paths clear.
You will be implementation-oriented and comfortable building the workflow, not just defining the strategy.
You will be able to operate at a fast pace while staying organized, calm, and effective in high-ambiguity environments.
You will be tool-agnostic and resourceful, with a track record of quickly learning unfamiliar systems and building effective solutions with limited resources, including lightweight tools, AI-assisted workflows, dashboards, documentation, and process design.