Real Estate & Workplace Strategy & Operations Manager

1w1 week ago

OpenAI

San Francisco, US · Full-time · $302,000 – $335,000

About this role

The Real Estate & Workplace (REW) team shapes OpenAI’s physical environments to enable innovation, collaboration, and growth. They oversee global real estate strategy, workplace operations, design & construction, and employee experience across a rapidly expanding footprint. REW plays a critical role in creating spaces that enable team members to do the best work of their lives.

The Strategy & Operations Manager ensures the REW organization operates cohesively as OpenAI scales. This system-level integrator translates strategy into sequencing, governance, alignment, and change management across functions like People, Finance, IT, Security, and Legal. It is not a traditional project management role but one that shapes organizational movement.

You will design operating cadences and governance forums to drive clarity, speed, and accountability without bureaucracy. Lead cross-functional alignment, surfacing tradeoffs and driving decisions with key partners. Identify friction points and implement lightweight systems to remove blockers and improve coordination.

Support enterprise-scale initiatives like new business needs and M&A integration to ensure REW rhythms scale with growth. Build simple frameworks for planning, decision-making, and operating metrics. Thrive in a high-growth environment influencing senior stakeholders with high judgment and ownership.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in strategy, operations, program leadership, or business operations
Experience designing operating models, governance forums, or cross-functional coordination systems
Demonstrated success scaling complex organizations in high-growth or high-ambiguity environments
Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and align competing priorities
Strong executive communication skills, including structured memo writing and decision frameworks
High judgment with the ability to balance speed, risk, and organizational health
Low ego, high ownership, and a systems-oriented mindset

Responsibilities

Translate REW strategy into clear priorities, sequencing, and execution plans across a fast-scaling org
Design and run operating cadences and governance forums that drive clarity, speed, and accountability (without adding bureaucracy)
Lead cross-functional alignment across REW and key partners (People, Finance, IT, Security, Legal), surfacing tradeoffs and driving timely decisions
Drive change management for major workplace and real estate initiatives, including comms, rollout planning, and adoption follow-through
Identify recurring friction points (process, ownership, dependencies) and implement lightweight systems to remove blockers and improve coordination
Support enterprise-scale initiatives, including new business needs and M&A integration, ensuring REW operating rhythms scale with growth
Build simple, repeatable frameworks (planning, decision-making, operating metrics) that help the organization move predictably at speed