Product Design Program Manager

Details

OpenAI’s Product Design team works across research, engineering, and product to bring OpenAI’s technology to the world through intuitive, responsible, and accessible experiences. The team serves a diverse audience—from everyday consumers to developers to large enterprises—and focuses on thoughtful design, safety, and real-world deployment. This role is based in OpenAI’s San Francisco HQ. We offer relocation assistance to new employees.

Responsibilities

• Partner with design leadership to identify and implement programs, processes, and tools that help the team operate more effectively across multiple product workstreams.
• Lead operational planning and execution for key initiatives, including team-wide rituals, hiring coordination, onboarding, resource allocation, and internal communications.
• Build and maintain scalable systems that support team growth, executional excellence, and strong collaboration with research, engineering, and product counterparts.
• Oversee asset management practices across the design organization, ensuring shared libraries, templates, and systems are version-controlled, accessible, and consistently used.
• Manage external vendors and contractors—handling onboarding, scoping, resourcing, contract workflows, and performance tracking.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering Operations to align OKRs, roadmaps, and delivery milestones.
• Help manage intake, prioritization, and resource planning for design work across a fast-moving and highly collaborative product environment.
• Drive clarity around ownership, roles, and execution timelines to ensure the right people are in the loop at the right time.
• Facilitate retrospectives, team health check-ins, and continuous improvement efforts.
• Jump in where needed—standing up new systems, running sprint planning sessions, onboarding vendors, or troubleshooting tools.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in design operations roles within high-growth technology environments.
• Experience building and scaling 0→1 operational systems across multidisciplinary teams—balancing long-term vision with hands-on execution.
• Flexible orientation toward process: understanding when it's effective and when not to over-index on process.
• Deep familiarity with the design and product development process (from early research and concepting through delivery and iteration).
• Experience managing shared design tools, assets, and libraries to support consistency and efficiency at scale.
• Experience managing vendors and contractors with focus on scoping, onboarding, resourcing, and performance tracking.
• Highly organized, action-oriented, comfortable with hands-on execution.
• Strong communicator and collaborator, experienced working with senior leadership, technical partners, and designers of all levels.
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced environments and solve problems in real time.

Compensation

• Compensation Range: $216K - $240K USD
• Base pay may vary depending on multiple individualized factors. Total compensation may include equity and performance-related bonuses.

Benefits & Additional Details

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre-tax accounts (Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, commuter expenses)
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid parental leave and medical/caregiver leave
• Flexible PTO and paid company holidays/office closures
• 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 as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits (charitable donation matching, wellness stipends)

About OpenAI & Legal

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company focused on ensuring general-purpose AI benefits all of humanity. OpenAI is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.

Background checks are administered in accordance with applicable law. For US-based candidates, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered consistent with local laws (e.g., San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance).