Program Manager, M&A Recruiting | People

About the Team

The Strategic Initiatives team sits within OpenAI’s Recruiting org and focuses on some of the most dynamic, people-driven areas of the company. We lead efforts across Executive Recruiting, Mergers & Acquisitions, Talent Intelligence, High Impact Talent, and Special Projects.

About the Role

As a Mergers & Acquisitions Program Manager within Recruiting, you’ll be a key partner in managing people XFN from diligence through employee onboarding on M&A deals. This role demands exceptional judgment, speed, and absolute discretion. You’ll operate at the center of some of OpenAI’s most impactful decisions - shaping the future of the company by bringing in extraordinary, mission-aligned talent.

We’re looking for someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves seamlessly between strategic thinking and execution, and is energized by complexity, challenge, and pace.

This role is based in our San Francisco office or SF Bay Area remote. (For in office: we use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.)

Responsibilities

• Co-design, lead, and scale the M&A People XFN workstream program, driving end-to-end management of timeline, candidate experience, and key touchpoints that enable smooth deal execution and set the stage for positive onboarding and integration.
• Build and uplevel playbooks, processes, and communications to support increasing deal volume and complexity, creatively solving for new challenges while ensuring clarity, alignment, and efficiency across cross-functional stakeholders (ex: Recruiting Operations, Comms, Events, etc.).
• Deliver a high-impact candidate and acquired team experience, including producing events such as Town Halls, onboarding customizations, and cultural moments that reflect OpenAI’s mission.
• Partner closely with senior leaders, founders, and acquired teams, demonstrating executive presence and the ability to navigate sensitive situations and competing priorities.
• Lead post-mortem retrospectives for People XFN both at a deal and program level to build repeatable playbooks/process improvement for future deals.
• Liaise with Recruiting Operations and cross-functional partners to build and scale efficient M&A recruiting processes and tools. This may include initiatives related to headcount tracking and allocation, offer creation and issuance, confidentiality workflows, etc.
• Flex into other high-priority areas of Strategic Initiatives as needed.

Requirements

• 8+ years of relevant industry experience, including at least 4 years leading program management efforts within Mergers & Acquisitions or driving complex, cross-functional initiatives within specialized technical environments.
• Strong project management skills, including leading initiatives from project scoping to execution phases and the ability to drive alignment across stakeholders, timelines, and tools.
• Strong analytical mindset, leveraging data to evaluate program health, identify risks early, and guide clear, informed decision-making.
• High ownership mindset with intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for technology; thrives in complex, continuously challenging contexts.
• Proven success operating with discretion and high judgment on sensitive or high-profile hires.
• The ability to zoom out strategically and operate at high altitude, while maintaining precision in execution and attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging across diverse stakeholders.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with technical hiring, especially in research or AI domains.
• Background in recruiting, education program design, or talent development.
• Experience supporting or building community-based programs.
• Project Management certification (e.g., PMP or equivalent).

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.

OpenAI’s 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 information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, requests can be made via this link.

OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy.

At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.

Compensation

$216K - $240K Offers Equity

The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. If the role is non-exempt, overtime pay will be provided consistent with applicable laws. In addition to the salary range listed above, total compensation also includes generous equity, performance-related bonus(s) for eligible employees, and the following benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
• 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
• Mental health and wellness support
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
• Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
• Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.

More details about our benefits are available to candidates during the hiring process.

This role is at-will and OpenAI reserves the right to modify base pay and other compensation components at any time based on individual performance, team or company results, or market conditions.