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Strategic Sourcing Lead, Professional Services – Human Data

OpenAI· Finance
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Hybrid (San Francisco)$234k - $260kFull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

Strategic Sourcing Lead responsible for owning and executing OpenAI’s category strategy for Professional Services, partnering with cross-functional leaders, managing a broad portfolio of services engagements, and leveraging AI to improve sourcing workflows in a hybrid San Francisco role.

Responsibilities

  • Own and continuously evolve the Professional Services category strategy and execution roadmap, setting priorities based on business needs, operating goals, market insight, and risk considerations.
  • Own multiple complex sourcing workstreams end to end, balancing high-value strategic negotiations with a high-throughput portfolio of services engagements.
  • Build trusted partnerships with senior stakeholders, clarify tradeoffs, and challenge or redirect proposed services models when a different approach will improve value, delivery, or risk.
  • Lead complex negotiations and design fit-for-purpose commercial structures, including master services agreements, statements of work, milestone- and outcome-based pricing, rate cards, acceptance criteria, change controls, audit rights, and termination protections.
  • Build and improve scalable category mechanisms, including intake and tiering, category plans, preferred-partner models, supplier segmentation, negotiation playbooks, approval pathways, and clear escalation mechanisms.
  • Strengthen the supplier ecosystem through competitive sourcing, consolidation where appropriate, performance governance, business reviews, and active value-realization plans.
  • Partner with Finance and Accounting to improve spend visibility, forecasting, approval discipline, invoice-to-contract alignment, and commercial structures that support appropriate accounting treatment and auditability.
  • Partner with Legal, People, and Extended Workforce to distinguish professional services from contingent labor, translate guidance into practical guardrails, and reduce co-employment, scope, intellectual-property, and delivery risk without slowing the business.
  • Produce clear, executive-ready reporting across pipeline health, savings and cost avoidance, cycle time, supplier performance, renewal exposure, risk, forecast accuracy, and realized business value.
  • Drive reliable execution through disciplined follow-through, clear documentation, clean data, timely approvals, and practical process improvements—creating lightweight structure where gaps exist and adapting quickly as priorities change.
  • Use AI to redesign sourcing workflows—including intake, market and supplier analysis, negotiation preparation, contract and spend analysis, documentation, reporting, and decision support—to improve speed, consistency, and decision quality while maintaining appropriate human judgment and controls.

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, or category management, with significant depth in Professional Services.
  • Experience owning Professional Services category strategy and end-to-end sourcing—from intake to contracting, governance, renewals, and long-term supplier strategy.
  • Proven ability to lead complex, high-stakes services negotiations and balance cost, speed, flexibility, quality, risk, and long-term value.
  • Understanding of the commercial and operating dynamics of consulting, advisory, managed services, and project-based work; distinctions between professional services, contingent labor, and full-time hiring.

Skills

Required:Strategic sourcing and category managementNegotiation and contractingStakeholder managementFinancial and analytical fluency

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
  • Mental health and wellness support
  • Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
  • Annual learning and development stipend
  • 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
Last updated Oct 8, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About OpenAI

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