Applied AI Engineering Manager, Startups

OpenAI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI in San Francisco seeks an Applied AI Engineering Manager for Startups to lead and scale the Startups Applied AI Engineering motion. This team helps high-growth startups move quickly from experimentation to production, unlock meaningful usage, and build durable technical partnerships with OpenAI.

You will balance team leadership, technical depth, customer prioritization, and cross‑functional collaboration across Sales, Product, Engineering, Research, and GTM to shape how OpenAI supports

Responsibilities

• Craft and continuously refine the strategic vision and operating model for the Startups Applied AI Engineering team, aligning it with OpenAI’s objectives and startup needs.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of high-performing technical ICs supporting startup customers across AI-native, developer-led, and product-led companies.
• Help startups move from early experimentation to production usage by identifying blockers, advising on architecture, and driving practical deployment paths.
• Partner with Sales to determine where technical engagement accelerates adoption, production usage, and long-term account growth.
• Represent the technical voice of startup customers by synthesizing feedback on developer experience, product gaps, deployment blockers, and model performance.

Job description

OpenAI in San Francisco seeks an Applied AI Engineering Manager for Startups to lead and scale the Startups Applied AI Engineering motion. This team helps high-growth startups move quickly from experimentation to production, unlock meaningful usage, and build durable technical partnerships with OpenAI.

You will balance team leadership, technical depth, customer prioritization, and cross‑functional collaboration across Sales, Product, Engineering, Research, and GTM to shape how OpenAI supports