Strategic Sourcing Lead, AI Compute Infrastructure

OpenAI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 226,000 - 285,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI in San Francisco is seeking a Strategic Sourcing Manager to lead global sourcing for AI compute infrastructure. You will drive strategy and supplier engagements across accelerators, GPUs/CPUs, servers, rack systems, and cooling components to scale our hyperscale compute platform.

Partner with engineering, legal, operations, and finance to align sourcing with technical objectives; run competitive sourcing events and ensure supplier accountability, capacity, and readiness for rapid growth.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of strategic sourcing and vendor management experience in compute hardware.
• Experience with OEM/JDM/ODM engagement.
• Fluency in compute architecture: GPUs, CPUs, servers, cooling, and power delivery.
• Proven success negotiating capital procurement and supplier capacity at hyperscale.
• Ability to influence cross-functional technical and executive teams in fast-moving environments.
• Experience with global manufacturing, supply chain readiness, and ramp-to-volume for high-complexity hardware.
• Familiarity with hyperscale data-center operations, testing, and integration workflows.
• Procurement, supply chain, or data-center hardware certifications are advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute sourcing strategies for next-generation AI compute infrastructure.
• Stay ahead of industry trends to inform category strategy and long-range planning.
• Negotiate and manage commercial agreements across OEM/ODM/JDMs for hardware components.
• Secure capacity and optionality across a rapidly scaling compute supply chain.
• Partner with engineering, program delivery, legal, operations, and finance to align sourcing with objectives.
• Drive competitive sourcing events, commercial structuring, and vendor accountability.
• Provide guidance during supplier selection and product qualification cycles.
• Deliver portfolio-level visibility to executives on progress, risks, and decisions.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Vendor management

Compute systems

Hardware supply chain

Negotiation

Cross-functional leadership

Analytical decision‑making

Global manufacturing

Job description

OpenAI in San Francisco is seeking a Strategic Sourcing Manager to lead global sourcing for AI compute infrastructure. You will drive strategy and supplier engagements across accelerators, GPUs/CPUs, servers, rack systems, and cooling components to scale our hyperscale compute platform.

Partner with engineering, legal, operations, and finance to align sourcing with technical objectives; run competitive sourcing events and ensure supplier accountability, capacity, and readiness for rapid growth.