Principal Recruiter, Strategic AI Talent
OpenAI · San Francisco, CA · Research
About this role
OpenAI is hiring a manager-level Recruiter in the people function based in San Francisco, CA. The posting calls out experience with OpenAI. Compensation is listed at $216,000–$240,000 per year.
- Role
- Recruiter
- Function
- people
- Level
- manager
- Track
- Tech leadership
- Employment
- Full-time
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
- Department
- Research
- Posted
- May 19, 2026
More roles at OpenAI
Job description
from OpenAI careersAbout the Team
OpenAI’s mission is to build safe artificial general intelligence (AGI) that benefits all of humanity. Achieving this requires bringing the world’s most exceptional talent under one roof to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
Our Research Recruiting team plays a critical role in this effort. We are an embedded part of the research organization—working side by side with our research staff to deeply understand evolving priorities, build trust, and strategically shape the future of OpenAI’s talent.
About the Role
We are looking for a highly strategic recruiter to work closely with the Head of Research Recruiting on a small set of unusually important, high-touch searches and candidate relationships. This role will focus on exceptional talent who does not move through a standard recruiting process: highly visible researchers, technical leaders, operators, and other special-interest candidates where timing, discretion, market intelligence, and tailored engagement matter as much as process execution.
This is not a conventional req-based recruiting role. You will help identify where the market is moving, develop intelligence on top talent and competitor activity, translate that intelligence into action, and orchestrate bespoke recruiting strategies for candidates who require a more nuanced path into OpenAI. You should be able to translate these signals and states into clear, actionable advice for leaders and then make it happen.