Technical Commodity Manager - Robotics

Join OpenAI's Robotics team as a Technical Commodity Manager to enhance supply chain processes and support R&D in robotics. This role requires adaptability, analytical skills, and a solid foundation in strategic sourcing and supplier management. OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products.

• •Partner directly with engineering during R&D to source components, qualify vendors, and get quotes and samples turned around quickly, without waiting on a fully built-out process.
• •Build supplier relationships from scratch in categories that matter to us today (and be willing to pick up new ones as our needs shift).
• •Evaluate quotes, lead times, and vendor capabilities well enough to make a sound call even when the data is incomplete.
• •Be a cross functional partner that is able to work with legal, finance, and the leadership team to gather approvals and remove roadblocks.
• •Help stand up the processes, tools, and vendor scorecards a growing supply chain org actually needs. You won't be inheriting a mature system, you'll be helping build it.
• •As we move into NPI, work with engineering and quality to get designs ready for production: DFM feedback, first-article inspection, pilot builds.
• •As we scale into high-volume manufacturing, help transition sourcing relationships and processes from prototype-friendly vendors to production-grade suppliers and contract manufacturers.
• •Flag risk early — single-source dependencies, long-lead components, supplier financial or quality issues — and bring solutions, not just problems.

• •Engineering and manufacturing see you as a highly responsive, agile partner who moves at their pace, turning evolving technical and production needs into viable supplier options, quotes, samples, and clear recommendations without becoming a bottleneck.
• •You’ve built a strong understanding of our most important commodities, suppliers, cost drivers, lead times, and manufacturing constraints.
• •Our highest-priority supply risks (long-lead parts, single-source dependencies, quality concerns, and weak supplier capacity) are visible, actively managed, and backed by practical mitigation plans.
• •You’ve established strong relationships with existing suppliers and added credible alternatives where we need more capability, leverage, or resilience.
• •The basic operating system for supply chain is taking shape: clear sourcing and purchasing workflows, reliable supplier and part data, and lightweight tools for tracking cost, delivery, quality, and risk.
• •You’re helping prepare upcoming designs for NPI by bringing supplier, manufacturability, cost, and lead-time considerations into engineering decisions early.
• •Most importantly, you’re operating with independence: making sound calls with incomplete information, escalating the decisions that genuinely need leadership input, and consistently bringing solutions rather than just identifying problems.

• •Strong reasoning ability and intellectual curiosity. You should be comfortable digging into a new commodity or technology you don't know well and getting up to speed fast.
• •Solid grounding in supply chain fundamentals - purchasing, negotiation, supplier management, basic understanding of manufacturing processes, even if your total years of experience are modest.
• •Comfort with ambiguity. Early-stage supply chain work means incomplete data, shifting priorities, and building the plane while flying it.
• •Direct, clear communication with engineers, with suppliers, and with leadership.
• •Some exposure to the hardware supply chain is required; deep specialization is not. Any of the following is a plus, not a prerequisite: precision machining, gears/mechanical components, EMS (electronics manufacturing services), PCBA, electrical/electronic components, contract manufacturing or JDM relationships.
• •Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent hands-on experience working with technical hardware, components, manufacturing processes, and technical supplier decisions.