Deal Lead, Special Situations

About the role

The Special Situations team at OpenAI is tasked with spearheading intricate commercial projects that pave the way for new market entries and innovative partnership frameworks, particularly in areas where established guidelines are yet to be developed. This position is in identifying and nurturing new business opportunities, especially within the semiconductor industry, and transforming these prospects into scalable operational models. The role requires a proactive approach to expedite decision-making processes and harmonize the interests of various stakeholders to drive substantial commercial success.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Discover and assess high-potential partnership opportunities in the semiconductor sector, translating industry-specific challenges into actionable AI-driven solutions.
• Conduct thorough analyses of the semiconductor partnership landscape and competitive environment, including insights into internal AI teams and emerging startups, to formulate distinctive and scalable partnership strategies for OpenAI.
• Quickly familiarize yourself with the terminology, workflows, and commercial intricacies of the semiconductor ecosystem to establish credibility with both technical and business leaders.
• Work collaboratively with Field Data Engineers (FDEs) and applied researchers to create multi-project initiatives that integrate models, tools, data, and services into beneficial outcomes for partners.
• Define specific use cases, project scopes, sequencing, and success metrics to turn ambiguous opportunities into clearly executable programs.
• Craft compelling commercial and strategic narratives, including presentations, demos, proposals, and deal memos, to ensure alignment among partners, executives, and internal teams.
• Clearly communicate OpenAI's unique advantages over both internal development efforts and external AI automation vendors within the semiconductor market.
• Structure and negotiate unconventional partnerships, including revenue-sharing agreements, royalties, and tailored commercial terms, leading the process through to contract finalization.
• Facilitate alignment and decision-making at the executive level regarding trade-offs, resource distribution, and risk management.

Requirements

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in business development, partnerships, corporate development, private equity, or entrepreneurial roles, with a proven history of driving and closing intricate, high-value deals from initiation to execution.
• Extensive experience in the semiconductor industry or closely related fields, with a solid understanding of how major companies in this sector procure, collaborate, and implement technology solutions.
• Strong communication skills to engage effectively with technical teams, along with the ability to quickly grasp specialized industry language and concepts without requiring an engineering background.
• Demonstrated ability to convert vague opportunities into clear commercial propositions that can garner support and funding from customers, executives, and technical teams.
• Proficiency in analyzing the competitive landscape and convincingly articulating OpenAI's advantageous positioning against both internal AI automation initiatives and specialized AI services startups.
• Expertise in structuring and finalizing non-standard deals that integrate products, services, and long-term strategic value rather than relying on off-the-shelf solutions.
• Ability to navigate complex buying environments, aligning multiple stakeholders while maintaining deal momentum amidst distributed authority or lack of clarity.
• Capacity to enhance decision-making quality by framing commercial and technical trade-offs early in the process, enabling confident commitments from both partners and OpenAI leadership.
• Skill in maintaining momentum as project scope, pricing, risk, and partnership structures evolve over time.
• Talent for establishing structure and accountability across cross-functional teams to ensure that deals result in tangible outcomes.
• A proactive approach to achieving results, adapting commercial and execution strategies as circumstances change without waiting for perfect information.
• A credible and executive-level presence when representing OpenAI in interactions with customers and partners, from initial engagement through to the establishment of long-term partnerships.

Practical notes

OpenAI is committed to being an equal opportunity employer. Background checks will be conducted in accordance with applicable laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act for candidates based in the United States. Reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities are available upon request.