OpenAI· Model Deployment for Business· San Francisco
Strategic Delivery Lead, Semiconductors
Comp$234K – $325K
Classified Tasks (31)
Automate 0%Augment 55%Human-Only 45%
Augment (17)
AI assists, human decides
Translate executive‑level business objectives into delivery roadmaps with milestones, dependencies, acceptance criteria, and value KPIs.
operational
Operate and maintain robust program management processes and tooling.
operational
Sequence work across streams to protect the program critical path.
operational
Identify delivery risks early and mitigate blockers through cross‑functional actions.
operational
Manage program change control and maintain risk registers.
administrative
Design delivery plans and define acceptance criteria for production adoption.
operational
Validate resourcing plans and assess delivery risks pre‑close.
analytical
Capture field insights and feed findings back to Product and Research to harden platform capabilities.
analytical
Coordinate and allocate cross‑functional resources (FDEs, TDLs, Researchers, Partnerships).
operational
Set program narrative and messaging for executives.
communication
Orchestrate SteerCo meetings and prepare decision‑ready executive readouts.
communication
Translate technical details into concise executive‑level communications.
communication
Drive production deployment of solutions and ensure deployments reach production environments.
technical
Design and execute onboarding, training, and operating models to support sustained customer use.
operational
Codify reusable patterns, playbooks, and solutions from engagements for future reuse.
administrative
Map customer problems and decompose them into structured delivery workstreams.
analytical
Collaborate with Research and Product to transition prototypes to production and surface reusable patterns.
technical
Human-Only (14)
Requires human judgment
Define how OpenAI orchestrates complex, multi‑workstream customer programs end-to-end.
leadership
Own program plans, governance, and value realization.
operational
Serve as the single accountable DRI for overall program success.
leadership
Run day‑to‑day execution across FDEs, Researchers, Product, Partnerships, and customer teams.
operational
Align internal and customer stakeholders on scope, priorities, and decisions.
communication
Make trade‑offs to protect schedule and critical‑path deliverables.
leadership
Engage in pre‑close discovery to shape scope, milestones, resourcing, and acceptance criteria.
operational
Co‑lead pre‑close discovery sessions to de‑risk delivery.
leadership
Shape project scope and commercial terms with Sales and Partnerships.
leadership
Lead post‑close execution to achieve measurable value and acceptance criteria.
operational
Influence stakeholders and resource owners without formal authority to secure alignment and execution.
leadership
Surface risks early and engage stakeholders in difficult decisions to protect the critical path.
leadership
Embed with customer stakeholders to map workflows and operational requirements.
communication
Structure delivery processes and drive teams to meet quality and velocity targets.
operational
Job description
Strategic Delivery Lead, Semiconductors | OpenAI Careers ## Strategic Delivery Lead, Semiconductors Model Deployment for Business - San Francisco Apply now(opens in a new window) **About the Team** OpenAI’s Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) team turns research breakthroughs into production-grade systems. We embed deeply with customers to solve high-leverage problems and act as the delivery engine for our most complex large-scale engagements. We move quickly from prototype to production and surface reusable patterns that shape our platform. We operate at the intersection of deployment and development – working closely with OpenAI Research, Product and Partnerships. **About the Role** As a Strategic Delivery Lead (SDL), you will define how OpenAI orchestrates complex, multi‑workstream customer programs end‑to‑end. Expect urgency to be high and ambiguity to be the default. You will own the plan, governance, and value realization - translating executive‑level business outcomes into a delivery roadmap, running day‑to‑day execution across FDEs, Researchers, Product, Partnerships, and customer teams, and ensuring adoption lands in production. You will map problems, structure delivery, and keep teams moving—holding the bar on both quality and pace. You will be accountable for the success of the overall program - sequencing work, aligning stakeholders, managing risk/change control, and making the trade‑offs that protect the critical path. You’ll engage pre‑close to shape scope, milestones, resourcing, and acceptance criteria, then lead post‑close execution to measurable value. You’ll also ensure field insights are captured and fed back to Product and Research so patterns harden into platform capabilities. You’ll coordinate and leverage a cross‑functional bench that includes FDEs, Technical Deployment Leads (TDLs), Researchers, and Partnerships - effectively influencing without formal authority. Success will be measured first and foremost by impact - time‑to‑first value, production adoption against clear acceptance criteria, and executive‑level outcomes realized. This is a high‑trust, high‑autonomy role. Success requires deep transformation program leadership, executive presence, and an ability to bring structure to ambiguity while keeping pace high. The initial focus for this role will be supporting a large-scale semiconductor customer engagement. Success in this environment requires operating effectively across deeply technical stakeholder groups, complex organizational structures, and high-rigor operational environments where reliability, execution velocity, and executive alignment are critical. **In this role, you will:** * **Own strategic delivery for complex, multi‑track programs.** Act as the single accountable DRI overseeing program success. Translate business objectives into a roadmap with milestones, dependencies, acceptance criteria, and value KPIs. * **Run day‑to‑day program execution.** Sequence and unblock work across FDE, Research, Product, Partnerships, and customer teams. Operate robust program management processes. * **Protect the critical path.** Identify delivery risks early and work cross-functionally to mitigate blockers and maintain program velocity. * **Own executive communication and alignment.** Set the narrative, orchestrate SteerCos and decision-ready readouts, surface risks early, and have the hard conversations to protect the critical path. Leverage your technical fluency to crisply articulate technical details to executives. * **Engage pre‑close to de‑risk delivery.** Co‑lead discovery; shape scope and commercials; design the delivery plan and acceptance criteria; validate resourcing and risks. * **Drive adoption and change management.** Embed with customer stakeholders to map workflows, land production deployments, and ensure onboarding, training, and operating models support sustained use. * **Codify patterns and playbooks.** Extract reusable soluti