Founding Head of Talent

The OpenAI Foundation; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 258,000 - 355,000; Full time

Job summary

The OpenAI Foundation in San Francisco is seeking its founding Head of Talent to own hiring across the Foundation from the ground up. You will lead the hiring function, partner with senior leaders, and drive end-to-end recruiting for technical, research, program, and operating roles.

This player-coach role requires hands-on execution and strategic planning to scale responsibly while maintaining a high bar for talent aligned with our mission.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in talent, including leading recruiting as a head or founding recruiter.
• Experience in rapid early scaling and building recruiting from scratch.
• Experience hiring senior researchers, engineers, and operators.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle recruiting from scoping to close across Foundation programs.
• Partner with founders to define roles and structured interview loops.
• Build top-of-funnel: sourcing, talent maps, warm pipelines for diverse talent.
• Design and run interview processes with scorecards and calibrations.
• Close mission-aligned candidates willing to join a high-bar environment.
• Stand up ATS, tooling, reporting, and an employer brand reflecting the mission.
• Hire and lead recruiters as the Foundation grows, defining leveling and offers.
• Advise on org design, leveling, and compensation at scale.

Skills

Talent Leadership

Recruiting Leadership

End-to-End Recruiting

Tools

ATS Systems

Job description

The OpenAI Foundation in San Francisco is seeking its founding Head of Talent to own hiring across the Foundation from the ground up. You will lead the hiring function, partner with senior leaders, and drive end-to-end recruiting for technical, research, program, and operating roles.

This player-coach role requires hands-on execution and strategic planning to scale responsibly while maintaining a high bar for talent aligned with our mission.