People Lead

OpenAI Deployment Company; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI Deployment Company seeks a seasoned People Lead to architect and scale DeployCo’s people function from inception through maturity, shaping talent, culture, performance, and operating frameworks for a rapidly growing deployment organization.

Initially, this role will partner with OpenAI’s People organization to implement foundational HR systems, policies, and programs. Over time, you will build an independent people organization supporting a distributed, high-performing workforce.

Qualifications

• 12–15+ years of experience in HR or People leadership roles.
• Built or scaled People functions in high-growth organizations.
• Experience supporting technical and professional services teams.
• Comfortable advising senior executives and shaping culture.
• Thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
• Balance strategic leadership with operational execution, including follow-through.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead DeployCo’s People function across HRBP, talent management, compensation, and employee experience.
• Set up core HRIS and other people systems to operate DeployCo.
• Design organizational structures, leveling frameworks, and career progression models.
• Develop performance management, feedback, and leadership development programs.
• Partner with leadership on workforce planning and organizational effectiveness.
• Design compensation and benefits programs aligned with market competitiveness.
• Implement scalable HR systems, policies, and compliance frameworks.
• Support culture-building and employee engagement across global teams.
• Advise executives on organizational design and change management.

Skills

HR leadership

Talent management

Compensation programs

Employee experience

Organizational design

Performance management

Leadership development

Workforce planning

HRIS implementation

Policy development

Change management

Cross-functional partnership

Tools

HRIS systems

Job description

About the Company

The OpenAI Deployment Company (“DeployCo”) is the deployment arm of OpenAI, purpose-built to deliver enterprise AI transformation at scale. As model capabilities accelerate, deployment has become the primary constraint to realizing AI value creation within large enterprises. DeployCo bridges that gap.

Our ambition is to build the company that defines AI deployment. We operate at the intersection of cutting-edge AI, enterprise transformation, and scaled services delivery. We partner with enterprise customers to identify where AI can transform their businesses and build solutions leveraging OpenAI’s models and products. We work with many of the world’s largest and most influential companies to solve their most complex business challenges using the latest advances in AI.

People who thrive at DeployCo get excited about ambitious and complex work. We are deep believers in the future with AI. We execute quickly, value intellectual honesty, and obsess over the solutions we build for our customers.

DeployCo is being built from the ground up as a subsidiary of OpenAI and funded with a partnership of outside investors.

About the Role

We are seeking a People Lead to architect and scale DeployCo’s people function from inception through maturity. This leader will design the talent, culture, performance, and operating frameworks required to support a rapidly scaling deployment organization.

Initially, this role will operate as a player-coach, partnering with OpenAI’s People organization to implement foundational HR systems, policies, and programs. Over time, you will build an independent people organization capable of supporting a distributed, high-performing workforce.

You will serve as a strategic partner to DeployCo’s executive team, ensuring organizational health, leadership development, and talent strategy align with long-term value creation.

Your day-to-day will include designing leveling and performance systems, writing policies, resolving messy employee questions, supporting leaders through change, partnering on workforce plans, and turning cultural principles into practical operating habits.

Success in this role will look like a company that can grow quickly while staying clear, kind, fair, high-performing, and close to the work.

In this role, you will:

• Build and lead DeployCo’s People function across HRBP, talent management, compensation, and employee experience.

• Set up core HRIS and other people systems necessary to operate DeployCo.

• Design organizational structures, leveling frameworks, and career progression models.

• Develop performance management, feedback, and leadership development programs.

• Partner with leadership on workforce planning and organizational effectiveness.

• Design compensation and benefits programs aligned with market competitiveness.

• Implement scalable HR systems, policies, and compliance frameworks.

• Support culture-building and employee engagement across global teams.

• Advise executives on organizational design and change management.

You may thrive in this role if you:

• Have 12–15+ years of experience in HR or People leadership roles.

• Have built or scaled People functions in high-growth organizations.

• Bring strong experience supporting technical and professional services teams.

• Are comfortable advising senior executives and shaping culture.

• Thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.

• Balance strategic leadership with operational execution, including the unglamorous follow-through that makes people systems trustworthy.