Program Manager, M&A Recruiting | People

Recruiting - San Francisco

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 leading the people-side workstream on M&A deals, from diligence through employee onboarding. This role demands sound judgment, speed, and 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 San Francisco and requires flexibility to come into the office on short notice. Deal timelines can shift quickly, and the team coordinates coverage and checks in regularly on workload.

In this role, you will

• 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.
• Own and improve an AI-enabled workflow that makes deal execution more effective across the team.
• Flex into other high-priority areas of Strategic Initiatives as needed.

You might thrive in this role if you have

• 6+ years of relevant experience, including at least 4 years leading complex cross-functional programs. Prior M&A experience is strongly preferred. We also welcome candidates who bring exceptional program management experience in technical environments and can demonstrate practical AI fluency.
• 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 mindseted 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 the full spectrum of humanity.

We are an equal opportunity employeration, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable lawation technology systems and related data security obligations.

To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.

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 factorsance-related bonus(es) 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.