SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
OpenAI's Hardware organization is building silicon and system-level solutions for advanced AI workloads. This role owns strategic sourcing and supplier partnerships for fiber and optical interconnect components critical to OpenAI's next-generation AI infrastructure.
Reporting to the Head of Partnerships & Strategic Sourcing, you will lead sourcing strategy across fiber cable assemblies, optical harnesses, fiber shuffles, optical backplane assemblies, passive optical assemblies, fiber-array units (FAUs), fiber-to-chip interfaces, detachable connectors, optical routing, and related packaging and test services.
Key responsibilities include developing comprehensive sourcing strategies for high-bandwidth AI systems; building deep understanding of the optical supply chain including raw materials, manufacturing, connector ecosystems, and sub-tier dependencies; identifying, evaluating, and qualifying suppliers across fiber manufacturers, cable and assembly suppliers, connector makers, and optical component providers.
You will lead RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs with technical and commercial assessments; partner with engineering teams to evaluate supplier capabilities across optical performance, signal integrity, reliability, and manufacturability; translate next-generation system requirements into sourcing and supplier development plans; and negotiate supplier agreements covering pricing, engineering support, tooling, capacity, lead times, quality, IP, and long-term commitments.
Additional scope includes developing detailed cost models and pricing frameworks; driving competitive cost structures through should-cost analysis and benchmarking; supporting supplier qualification and production readiness; establishing multi-source and supply-continuity strategies for critical components; securing capacity ahead of demand; building strategic supplier relationships through executive engagement and performance management; and developing repeatable processes for category strategy, supplier performance, and supply-risk reporting.
You will collaborate cross-functionally with electrical, optical, systems, mechanical, and packaging engineering; quality, manufacturing, supply chain, finance, legal, and program management teams to translate demanding bandwidth, signal integrity, reliability, and scale requirements into resilient partnerships and scalable commercial strategies.
