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Research Program Manager

OpenAI· Research
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San Francisco$239k - $328k + equity + bonusFull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Embedded role partnering with OpenAI researchers and engineers to drive technically complex research programs across model training, alignment and safety, research infrastructure, and governance in a hybrid San Francisco setting.

Responsibilities

  • Embed with research teams to translate evolving research priorities into actionable programs
  • Help teams navigate technical and operational tradeoffs and keep important work moving as issues emerge
  • Engage directly with research workflows, experimental results, technical systems, and engineering constraints
  • Coordinate across multiple teams and stakeholders to move complex initiatives forward
  • Maintain clarity about knowns vs uncertainties and drive sound technical decisions in the face of incomplete information
  • Introduce structure to improve researcher effectiveness without creating unnecessary processes
  • Uphold a high bar for quality by scrutinizing evidence, evaluation results, and execution plans
  • Communicate clearly with researchers, engineers, and organizational leaders
  • Take ownership and adapt to changing priorities to follow difficult problems through to resolution
  • Contribute to advancing AI research responsibly and ensuring benefits to humanity

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience in research program management, technical program management, or related roles in fast-moving environments
  • Ability to engage substantively with researchers and engineers on topics such as model training, experimental design, model safety, evaluation methods, data workflows, compute infrastructure, or distributed systems
  • Comfort working directly with technical tools, research data, experimental results, or operational workflows
  • Track record of moving complex, ambiguous technical initiatives forward across multiple teams and stakeholders
  • Ability to distinguish knowns from unknowns, ask incisive technical questions, and help teams decide with incomplete information
  • Skill in introducing structure without creating unnecessary processes and improving researcher effectiveness
  • High bar for quality with capability to scrutinize evidence and plans
  • Clear communication across technical and nontechnical audiences
  • Ownership mindset with adaptability to changing priorities
  • Commitment to advancing AI research responsibly and beneficial outcomes for humanity

Skills

Required:Stakeholder managementTechnical program managementModel trainingExperiment design and evaluation

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
  • 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 additional paid office closures, 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 offices and meal delivery credits
  • Relocation assistance for eligible employees
  • Additional taxable fringe benefits such as charitable donation and wellness stipends
Last updated Sep 3, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About OpenAI

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Company profileWebsite

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