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Business Lead, Special Situations

openai

Híbrido San Francisco
Advertising

Job Score

90 pts
Hybrid model (+80) Advertising (+10)

About the Team
OpenAI’s Business organization works with customers and partners on some of our most complex and consequential opportunities. These efforts require rigorous strategy, strong operating leadership, and coordinated execution across commercial, product, technical, deployment, and go-to-market teams.


About the Role
We are hiring a Business Lead to serve as the operating leader for a strategically important initiative anchored in a major partnership. This person will turn an ambitious, cross-functional mandate into a clear strategy, operating plan, decision structure, and set of measurable outcomes.

This role combines strategy and operations, product judgment, commercial skills, and the ability to get things done. You will identify the most promising product and customer opportunities, develop a point of view on how our products should work together, shape the commercial approach, and personally drive execution across both organizations.

This is a hands-on role for someone who wants to own outcomes, not just coordinate work. You will structure ambiguous problems, establish priorities, build trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and work across product, engineering, deployment, and go-to-market teams to remove blockers and deliver results.

Success means establishing a durable operating model for the initiative, improving decision velocity, translating strategy into coordinated execution, launching a joint go-to-market motion, landing an initial cohort of customers, and delivering a high-quality enterprise deployment.


In this role, you will:

  • Own the initiative’s integrated strategy and operating plan, including priorities, desired outcomes, metrics, owners, dependencies, and decision points

  • Structure complex and ambiguous business problems, develop fact-based recommendations, and translate them into clear choices and executable plans

  • Define success measures and build operating reviews that surface progress, risks, tradeoffs, and required decisions

  • Personally drive the highest-priority initiatives from problem definition through decision, implementation, and measurable outcome

  • Translate strategic priorities into well-formed commercial, product, technical, deployment, and go-to-market workstreams

  • Prepare concise executive decision materials and establish clear governance for strategy, resource, economic, and execution decisions

  • Identify cross-functional dependencies, resolve blockers, and recommend resource or priority tradeoffs when execution is at risk

  • Build and run a rigorous internal and external operating cadence that creates accountability, decision velocity, and early visibility into risk

  • Develop trusted, high-accountability relationships across executive, commercial, product, technical, legal, finance, deployment, and partner teams

  • Stand up a joint go-to-market motion and drive the first cohort of customers from targeting and value proposition through execution

  • Develop commercial positions and support negotiations across economics, packaging, delivery commitments, and long-term strategic value

  • Build an informed perspective on how our products should integrate with, complement, or remain distinct from the partner’s products, and translate that perspective into recommendations for Product, Engineering, and deployment teams


You might thrive in this role if you have:

  • Substantial experience in strategy and operations, business operations, general management, strategic initiatives, or another role centered on solving complex business problems and driving execution

  • A track record as the accountable operator for consequential outcomes—not only as an advisor, planner, or coordinator

  • Exceptional structured problem-solving skills, including the ability to move from ambiguous questions to clear analysis, recommendations, and action

  • Strong analytical and business judgment, with experience defining metrics, evaluating tradeoffs, and using data to improve decisions and performance

  • Excellent program and operating leadership, with a bias toward simple mechanisms that create clarity, accountability, and execution velocity

  • Clear, concise executive communication and the ability to produce high-quality written plans, recommendations, and decision materials

  • Strong product judgment and sufficient technical fluency to understand complex product ecosystems, challenge assumptions, and collaborate credibly with technical counterparts

  • Commercial judgment and experience contributing to negotiations involving economics, packaging, delivery commitments, or long-term strategic value

  • Exceptional internal and external relationship leadership, including candid communication, conflict resolution, and expectation management

  • Experience working across company boundaries with partners or customers; a formal business development or partnerships background is not required

  • High agency, low ego, sound judgment, and a willingness to do the detailed work required to move outcomes forward

  • Exceptional follow-through in fast-moving environments with incomplete information

About OpenAI

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. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.

OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy

At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.

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About Advertising

The Advertising area is aimed at the planning, creation, and delivery of communication campaigns to promote brands, products, ideas, or services. Professionals in the sector work in advertising agencies or in-house marketing departments in creative fields (art direction, copywriting), strategic planning, account management, and media buying.

Discover Other Areas

Understand the scope of work, key skills, and tools used in different career areas.

About Design

The Design field, especially UX/UI and Product Design, has experienced significant growth in recent years. With accelerated business digitization, the demand for professionals who can create intuitive and pleasant digital experiences has never been higher.

Key skills include Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, user research, design thinking, prototyping, and system design. Product designers are increasingly valued for their direct impact on business results.

Remote work has opened doors for Brazilian designers to work for global companies, with competitive salaries in dollars and euros.

About Sales

The Sales area is responsible for generating revenue and expanding the customer base. B2B and B2C sales professionals are fundamental for sustainable growth of any organization.

Key skills include prospecting, negotiation, CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot), sales enablement, and value consulting. The consultative and data-driven approach is increasingly valued.

Consultative sellers and senior Sales Managers have very high earning potential, with OTE (On-Target Earnings) that can exceed monthly salaries in technology companies.

About Tech Recruiter

The Tech Recruiter is a professional specialized in recruiting technology talent, from developers to AI engineers and DevOps professionals. They combine technical knowledge with recruitment skills to evaluate and attract highly qualified candidates.

Key skills include technical screening, analysis of technical profiles (GitHub, portfolios, blogs), knowledge of software stacks and architectures, networking in tech communities and events. Proficiency with tools like LinkedIn Recruiter, Gem, Ashby, and technical assessment platforms is a differentiator.

Tech Recruiters are scarce and highly paid professionals, especially those who can map and access passive talent in competitive markets like AI, data engineering, and cloud computing.

About Customer Success

Customer Success is the area responsible for ensuring clients achieve their goals when using the product or service. It is a strategic function for retention, expansion, and customer satisfaction.

Key skills include account management, churn analysis, NPS, onboarding, upsell, and cross-sell. Knowledge of CS tools like Gainsight, Totango, and ChurnZero is a differentiator.

CS is becoming increasingly strategic in SaaS companies, with professionals directly contributing to recurring revenue growth (MRR/ARR).

About Project Management

Project Management is essential to ensure strategic initiatives are delivered on time, within scope, and with quality. PM professionals coordinate teams, manage risks, and communicate with stakeholders.

Key methodologies include PMBOK, PRINCE2, Scrum, and Kanban. Tools like Jira, Asana, Monday, and MS Project are widely used in daily work.

Certifications like PMP and PgMP are important differentiators in the market, with growing demand in technology and consulting companies.

Career Guides

Technology Career Guide

Planning, skills, interviews, and professional growth in IT, Data Science, DevOps, and Product.

Read full guide →

Design Career Guide

UX/UI, Graphic Design, Product Design. Portfolio, tools, interviews, and growth in the Design field.

Read full guide →

Marketing Career Guide

SEO, Paid Media, Growth, Content Marketing. Certifications, tools, and strategies to grow in Digital Marketing.

Read full guide →

Finance Career Guide

Financial market, investments, corporate finance, certifications, and strategies to grow in the financial field.

Read full guide →

Communication Career Guide

Journalism, PR, Corporate Communication, Content Marketing, and Multimedia Production.

Read full guide →

Administration Career Guide

Business Management, HR, Logistics, Consulting, Project Management, and Entrepreneurship.

Read full guide →

Data Career Guide

Data Science, Data Engineering, BI, Machine Learning, and AI. From training to the job market.

Read full guide →

Product Career Guide

Product Management, Product Ownership, Agile, Scrum, and OKRs. From strategy to execution.

Read full guide →

Tech & Remote Glossary

Stop getting lost in interviews and job descriptions

The job market, especially within tech and global companies, has developed its own dialect. Not understanding these acronyms can make you lose valuable opportunities or poorly negotiate your contract. To end this problem, we created the Definitive Glossary for the Remote Professional.

🏢 Work Models & Routine

Async (Asynchronous Work)
A communication model where responses don't need to be immediate. Instead of back-to-back meetings, the team relies on well-structured documents, threads, and messages. It's the gold standard for global companies spanning multiple time zones.
Sync (Synchronous Work)
The opposite of Async. It requires the team to be online and available at the same time for meetings, live chats, and real-time collaboration.
Daily / Stand-up
A quick daily meeting (usually 15 minutes) common in Agile (Scrum) methodologies. The team answers three questions: What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? Are there any blockers?
All-Hands / Town Hall
A company-wide meeting involving all employees. Usually led by the founders (C-Levels) to present results, new goals, and answer team questions.
1:1 (One-on-One)
A recurring individual meeting between a professional and their direct manager. It is used for career alignment, feedback, and problem-solving, not just for project status updates.

💰 Contracts, Benefits & Compensation

PTO (Paid Time Off)
Instead of strict, categorized leave policies, modern US companies usually offer a flexible pool of days (e.g., 20 days of PTO, or even "Unlimited PTO") that you can use for vacations, sick days, or personal matters, while receiving your regular compensation.
Equity / Stock Options
Company ownership. The startup offers you the right to buy shares at a heavily discounted strike price in the future. If the company grows, goes public, or is acquired, these shares can be highly lucrative.
Vesting (Vesting Schedule)
The rule that controls your Equity. It usually lasts 4 years. You don't get all the shares on day one; you "earn" them gradually as you stay with the company. A "1-year Cliff" means you must stay for at least one year to receive your first batch of shares.
RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)
Unlike Stock Options (where you have the right to buy the stock), RSUs are actual shares the company grants you as a bonus or part of your compensation package, following a strict Vesting schedule.
Independent Contractor (1099 / B2B)
The most common international hiring model for global talent working for US companies. You act as a service provider (business-to-business), receiving the gross salary (often six-figure compensation) without standard local payroll tax deductions at the source.

🤖 Recruitment & Hiring Process

ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
The "robot" that reads your resume. Software like Greenhouse, Ashby, and Workday are used to filter candidates by keywords before a human even looks at the document. (Pro tip: this is why your resume must be clean, semantic, and have the right keywords).
JD (Job Description)
The document that lists the responsibilities, technical requirements, and benefits of the open position.
Cultural Fit
The interview stage that evaluates if your core values, communication style, and worldview align with the company's culture. This is the ultimate test of your Soft Skills.
Onboarding
The integration process. It's the period of your first few weeks at the company, where you get your access credentials, learn about the culture, study the internal documentation, and understand how the product works.

🚀 How to use this to your advantage?

The secret isn't just knowing what these acronyms mean, but using them actively. If during an interview for a premium tech role you ask, "How does your PTO policy and Vesting schedule work?", the recruiter will immediately perceive you as a high-level professional, familiar with the global market standards.

The remote job market requires preparation. And having the right vocabulary is the first big step to securing six-figure proposals and standing out among thousands of applicants.

Expert Tip

The Ultimate Guide to Global E-commerce

The Ultimate Guide to Global E-commerce: Careers, Technology, and the Best Opportunities

By Mondywork | Career and Technology Insights

How borderless digital commerce is shaping the future of work and creating high-value, six-figure roles for Managers and Engineers.

1. The Current Landscape of Global E-commerce

E-commerce is no longer just a "digital storefront"; it has become the core revenue engine for the world's biggest brands. According to projections by eMarketer, global retail e-commerce sales continue to break records, easily surpassing the multi-trillion-dollar mark annually.

Today, the market thrives in the era of Cross-Border Commerce, where consumers buy from brands across continents with the same ease as a local purchase. To sustain this massive operation, companies are investing heavily in cloud infrastructure, data-driven smart logistics, and modern tech architectures like Headless Commerce — where the front-end (user interface) is completely decoupled from the back-end (sales engine), ensuring lightning-fast loading speeds and highly personalized experiences.

2. The Pillars of the Operation: Who Makes E-commerce Happen?

Behind every "1-Click Buy" button, there is a complex engineering structure bridging business and technology. Two fundamental professionals stand out in this ecosystem:

The E-commerce Manager

This is the strategic brain of the business. The E-commerce Manager isn't just a digital inventory keeper; they are performance analysts obsessed with metrics and growth.

  • Core Responsibilities: Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), P&L (Profit and Loss) management, catalog curation, dynamic pricing, and coordinating traffic campaigns alongside the Marketing team.
  • Key Metrics: CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), LTV (Lifetime Value), ROAS (Return on Ad Spend), and Churn Rate.
  • Ideal Profile: Highly analytical, data-driven, with strong cross-departmental leadership skills (uniting logistics, marketing, and tech).

The E-commerce Engineer (Developer)

The technological arm and executor of the business vision. Developers focused on e-commerce are highly valued because they understand that every millisecond of latency in the code translates to lost revenue.

  • Core Responsibilities: Building and maintaining storefronts, complex API integrations (ERPs, CRMs, Payment Gateways, and shipping providers), developing custom themes, and ensuring information security (PCI Compliance).
  • Tech Stack: Varies by platform, but mastering JavaScript (React/Next.js for Headless), Node.js, GraphQL, and specific template languages (like Liquid for Shopify) is essential.
  • Ideal Profile: Technical problem-solver with a strong business acumen, deeply focused on Web Performance (Core Web Vitals) and scalability.

3. The Biggest Market Players (SaaS and PaaS Platforms)

To succeed in this field, it is crucial to master or be deeply familiar with the giants that power virtual stores globally:

Shopify / Shopify Plus:
The Canadian giant dominates the global SaaS market. With a massive app ecosystem and Liquid as its template language, Shopify Plus is the go-to choice for scalable enterprise brands. Shopify Developers are in incredibly high demand across the US and European markets.
VTEX:
A Latin American powerhouse that became a formidable global player, now listed on the NYSE. The VTEX IO architecture, based on React and Node.js, changed the game for Enterprise development. VTEX Managers and Devs have guaranteed opportunities in large B2B and B2C corporations.
Magento (Adobe Commerce):
Known for its extreme robustness and flexibility (PaaS/On-Premise). It requires solid knowledge of PHP and complex software architecture. It is the platform of choice for massive, highly customized operations.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud:
Aimed at the top of the pyramid (large enterprise accounts), it integrates seamlessly into the Salesforce CRM ecosystem, requiring highly specialized professionals versed in its proprietary languages and corporate processes.

4. Where Are the Best Opportunities and How to Break In?

The e-commerce market is one of the biggest hubs for global remote jobs. US and European companies are actively seeking top-tier talent worldwide, offering aggressive compensation (often six-figure salaries in USD or EUR) to professionals who can scale their operations.

For those looking to enter or pivot to this area:

  1. Specialize in a Platform: Being a "Generic Developer" pays the bills, but being a "VTEX IO Specialist" or a "Shopify Expert" multiplies your market value. Pursue official certifications.
  2. Master APIs and Integrations: Modern e-commerce doesn't live in a vacuum. Knowing how to connect a store to a logistics system, a marketing automation software (like Klaviyo or Brevo), or a global ERP is the most valued skill today.
  3. Build a Real Portfolio: For devs, create test stores, build a public app for the Shopify App Store, or contribute to Headless projects. For managers, showcase real conversion optimization cases and campaign management on your LinkedIn.
  4. Flawless Technical Communication: Fluent English (especially asynchronous communication for documentation, Jira tickets, and Slack) is the golden key to unlocking those US Remote and global six-figure roles.
"In e-commerce, the code isn't just software; it's the store itself. If the site crashes on Black Friday, the company bleeds money. That's why highly qualified professionals in this field are never out of work."

Accelerate Your Career with Mondywork

Whether you are a business strategist or a software engineer, the best E-commerce and Tech jobs—including global remote opportunities—are published daily on our board.

Golden Tip: Browse the Mondywork platform, set up your customized Job Alerts on our homepage, and ensure your resume highlights the technologies mentioned in this article. The market won't wait, and your next big global opportunity might be just one click away.