Manager, Applied AI Engineering (Startups)

OpenAI
San Francisco, Mountain View
Workplace: HybridFull timeUSD 251,000 - 335,000 annuallyFunction: Data Science & Machine LearningSkills: ["Leadership","Mentorship","Judgment","Cross-functional collaboration","Executive communication"]

Lead and scale the Startups Applied AI Engineering motion, partnering with fast-moving startup customers to move from experimentation to production with OpenAI technologies. Set the team’s operating model, mentor technical ICs, and advise on architecture and deployment paths. Work closely with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Research to accelerate adoption, capture high-signal startup feedback, build repeatable playbooks, and serve as a senior technical escalation point.

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FursaFursa
OpenAI
OpenAI
3 months ago

Manager, Applied AI Engineering (Startups)

✓ Verified Job

Canonical indexed version, validated from employer's careers page.

Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI
Last checked: 18 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Lead and scale the Startups Applied AI Engineering motion, partnering with fast-moving startup customers to move from experimentation to production with OpenAI technologies. Set the team’s operating model, mentor technical ICs, and advise on architecture and deployment paths. Work closely with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Research to accelerate adoption, capture high-signal startup feedback, build repeatable playbooks, and serve as a senior technical escalation point.
Location: San Francisco, Mountain View
Workplace: Hybrid
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Data Science & Machine Learning
Seniority: Manager level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Craft and continuously refine the strategic vision and operating model for the Startups Applied AI Engineering team aligned to company objectives and customer needs.
  • •Lead, mentor, and grow a team of technical ICs supporting startup customers across AI-native, developer-led, and product-led companies.
  • •Help startups move from early experimentation to production usage by identifying technical blockers and advising on architecture and deployment paths.
  • •Partner with Sales to determine where technical engagement can accelerate adoption, production usage, and long-term account growth.
  • •Synthesize high-signal feedback from startup customers and translate recurring needs into repeatable playbooks, starter packs, reference architectures, and internal/customer-facing assets.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 251,000 - 335,000 annually
Equity and Bonus:Equity

Key Requirements

  • •Proven experience founding, scaling, or operating within early-stage startups, ideally in technical leadership roles owning both customer outcomes and technical execution.
  • •Track record building and leading technical, customer-facing teams in ambiguous, startup-heavy environments.
  • •Strong technical depth across APIs, platform products, AI/ML systems, developer workflows, and production deployment considerations.
  • •Experience creating scalable operating models for recurring engagement motions—not just one-off escalations.
  • •Comfort working directly with founders, CTOs, and highly technical ICs, demonstrating strong judgment on when to go deep vs. build repeatable mechanisms.
Experience:StartupsAI/MLDeveloper toolsEarly-stageHigh-growth
Skills:LeadershipMentorshipJudgmentCross-functional collaborationExecutive communication
Tech Stack:APIsPlatform productsAI/ML systems

Company Brief

OpenAI
Develops and deploys advanced generative AI models (including ChatGPT and DALL·E) and AI infrastructure, providing APIs and consumer products to accelerate safe AGI for broad benefit.
Industry: AI & Machine Learning
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Revenue: USD 1B+
Growth: Scaleup
Valuation: Hectocorn (USD 100B+)
Funding: Series E+
Headquarters: San Francisco, United States
Founded: 2015
Glassdoor
Glassdoor: 4.4
WebsiteLinkedInGlassdoor