# Strategic Sourcing Manager, Memory Storage & CPUs

**Company:** [OpenAI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/openai)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Business Operations
**Salary:** $226k – $378k/yr
**Experience:** 10+ years
**Skills:** Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Management, Optical Fiber, Optical Interconnects, Cable Assemblies, Optical Packaging, Supplier Qualification, Rfq, Rfp, Cost Modeling, Supply Chain, ERP
**Posted:** 2026-09-09

> Leads strategic sourcing and supplier partnerships for fiber and optical interconnect components supporting next-generation AI infrastructure. Requires 10+ years in optical, interconnect, semiconductor, networking, or advanced hardware supply chains, with expertise in supplier qualification, commercial negotiations, cost modeling, and capacity strategy.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Develop and execute sourcing strategies for fiber and optical interconnect components supporting high-bandwidth AI systems and infrastructure.
- Own sourcing across fiber cable assemblies, optical harnesses, fiber shuffles, optical backplane assemblies, passive optical assemblies, fiber-array units, fiber-to-chip interfaces, detachable connectors, optical routing, and related packaging, assembly, and testing services.
- Analyze optical supply chains, including raw materials, fiber and cable manufacturing, connector ecosystems, component manufacturing, assembly and test capacity, and sub-tier dependencies.
- Identify, evaluate, qualify, and manage suppliers across the fiber and optical interconnect ecosystem.
- Lead RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs; define evaluation criteria; coordinate technical and commercial assessments; and recommend sourcing decisions.
- Partner with engineering teams to assess optical performance, insertion loss, return loss, signal integrity, bandwidth, power, reliability, thermal performance, mechanical robustness, manufacturability, and production readiness.
- Translate technology roadmaps and system requirements into sourcing strategies, supplier-development plans, and capacity requirements.
- Negotiate agreements covering pricing, engineering support, tooling, manufacturing and test capacity, lead times, quality, intellectual property, warranties, service levels, and long-term supply commitments.
- Develop cost models and pricing frameworks; drive cost reduction through should-cost analysis, open-book pricing, benchmarking, volume agreements, value engineering, supplier competition, and multiyear roadmaps.
- Support supplier qualification, design reviews, component selection, validation, pilot builds, system bring-up, production readiness, and volume ramp.
- Establish multisource and supply-continuity strategies addressing capacity constraints, sub-tier dependencies, supplier concentration, geopolitical exposure, technology transitions, and lifecycle risks.
- Secure supplier capacity and visibility into raw materials, equipment, assembly, testing, yield, and sub-tier constraints.
- Manage strategic supplier relationships through executive engagement, business reviews, scorecards, escalations, and corrective action plans.
- Collaborate with finance, legal, security, quality, operations, and program management teams.
- Develop processes and reporting for category strategy, supplier performance, pricing, capacity planning, component availability, supply risk, and ERP/MRP/PLM workflows.

## Requirements
- 10+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, or supply-chain leadership within optical communications, fiber optics, high-speed interconnects, semiconductors, networking hardware, data-center infrastructure, or advanced hardware manufacturing.
- Experience sourcing fiber-optic components, optical cable assemblies, fiber connectivity, passive optical assemblies, optical packaging and assembly services, or similar high-volume hardware-integration categories.
- Strong familiarity with fiber and optical interconnect supply chains, including cable assemblies, harnesses, fiber shuffles, backplanes, FAUs, fiber-to-chip interfaces, optical packaging, electronics, assembly, and testing.
- Experience evaluating optical and interconnect suppliers against technical, quality, reliability, manufacturability, and production-readiness requirements.
- Understanding of scaling high-speed optical connectivity in AI, hyperscale data-center, or high-performance computing environments.
- Track record of leading competitive sourcing processes, negotiating complex commercial agreements, and building supplier partnerships.
- Expertise in should-cost modeling, open-book pricing, total cost of ownership, supplier cost structures, and commercial optimization.
- Experience securing supplier capacity and managing constraints across complex, multi-tier global supply chains.
- Experience supporting supplier qualification, product development, manufacturing readiness, program bring-up, production ramp, and supplier performance management.
- Technical credibility to collaborate with optical, electrical, signal-integrity, systems, manufacturing, and reliability engineers.
- Strong analytical judgment balancing cost, performance, supply continuity, quality, capacity, and delivery.
- Experience working with global suppliers and improving supply resilience and production capacity.

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