Strategic Compute Capacity Planning Lead

Details

About the Team

The Strategic Partnerships team is responsible for building and managing the partnerships, supply commitments, and strategic deals that enable OpenAI’s long-term infrastructure roadmap. We work closely with Infrastructure, Finance, Research, Product, and Engineering to connect OpenAI’s compute requirements with capacity strategy, investment decisions, and external partnerships.

About the Role

As a Strategic Compute Capacity Planning Lead, you will build and lead OpenAI’s capacity planning, allocation, and forecasting function across GPU and non-GPU infrastructure, including CPU and storage. You will translate research, product, and business demand into a disciplined capacity plan that defines what infrastructure we need, when and where we need it, how it should be allocated, and the financial and strategic tradeoffs involved.

We’re looking for people who combine strategic thinking, financial judgment, and operational rigor with the ability to build new processes from the ground up. You will partner deeply across technical and business teams to create a forward-looking operating model for capacity planning and help leadership make informed infrastructure decisions.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

Responsibilities

• Build the operating model for capacity planning across GPUs, CPUs, storage, and other critical infrastructure.
• Forecast demand across training, inference, research, product, and enterprise workloads.
• Translate demand forecasts into infrastructure requirements, including compute shapes, timing, location, vendor needs, and financial plans.
• Develop frameworks for allocating scarce capacity across competing research, product, and business priorities.
• Model ROI, total cost of ownership, utilization, and strategic tradeoffs for major compute and infrastructure decisions.
• Partner with Strategic Partnerships and infrastructure teams on capacity deals, vendor strategies, and supply commitments.
• Build scenario plans for demand spikes, supply constraints, product launches, and changes to the research roadmap.
• Establish an executive operating cadence for capacity reviews, allocation decisions, forecast updates, and escalations.
• Create clear visibility into supply gaps, demand risks, utilization tradeoffs, and infrastructure investment choices.
• Move capacity planning from an ad hoc process to a rigorous, repeatable, and forward-looking strategic function.

Requirements

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Bring strong experience in strategic planning, finance, operations, infrastructure strategy, partnerships, or complex commercial deals.
• Can translate technical requirements and uncertain demand signals into clear operating and financial plans.
• Have experience evaluating infrastructure investments through ROI, cost, utilization, and scenario-based frameworks.
• Are comfortable working across Research, Product, Engineering, Finance, and business teams with different priorities and planning horizons.
• Can create decision-making frameworks for allocating scarce resources across competing needs.
• Pair strategic judgment with a willingness to work hands-on, especially when building a new function or operating process.
• Communicate complex tradeoffs clearly and can drive alignment with senior technical and business leaders.
• Operate effectively in a fast-moving environment where supply, demand, and organizational priorities can change quickly.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
• 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
• Mental health and wellness support
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
• Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
• Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.

More details about our benefits are available to candidates during the hiring process.