# Program Manager, Critical Harm Operations

**Company:** [OpenAI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/openai)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Technical Program Management
**Salary:** $252k – $280k/yr
**Experience:** 8+ years
**Skills:** Program Management, strategy and operations, product operations, Technical Program Management, trust and safety, risk operations, Workflow Automation, ai-assisted operations, quality assurance, Data Analysis, Dashboards, vendor operations, launch readiness, Executive Communication, escalation management
**Posted:** 2026-08-03

> Leads complex critical-harm safety operations from problem framing through implementation and scaled operation. The role requires 8+ years of relevant experience, strong cross-functional influence, analytical fluency, and sound judgment in sensitive, high-severity environments.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Lead strategic operational builds across priority workflows from problem statement through implementation and scaled operation.
- Define scope, owners, milestones, risks, success measures, and execution cadence.
- Translate policy, safety, technical, legal, and operational constraints into workflows, requirements, playbooks, escalation paths, and decision-making structures.
- Coordinate with User Operations leadership, Product Policy, Integrity, Safety Systems, i2, Legal, Product, Engineering, Support, vendors, and other partners.
- Stand up new programs, stabilize operations, improve handoffs, and transition durable ownership to the appropriate teams.
- Use operational data and frontline signals to identify bottlenecks, quality gaps, capacity needs, ownership failures, and high-leverage interventions.
- Drive high-priority escalations and cross-functional decisions to closure.
- Create roadmaps, decision logs, status updates, risk registers, operating reviews, and executive communications.
- Identify opportunities for AI tools, automation, lightweight systems, and simpler workflows while preserving appropriate human judgment.

## Requirements
- 8+ years of experience in program management, strategy and operations, product operations, technical program management, trust and safety, support operations, risk operations, implementation, or a related field.
- Track record of taking complex, ambiguous work from problem framing through launch and scaled operation.
- Strong organization, judgment, and execution skills across multiple moving pieces.
- Ability to build trust and drive alignment across teams without direct authority.
- Technical and analytical fluency sufficient to reason about data flows, dashboards, tooling gaps, automation, and failure modes.
- Clear communication with technical, operational, policy, and executive audiences.
- Ability to operate calmly and flexibly in a fast-moving environment and handle high-severity or sensitive work.

## Nice-to-haves
- Experience with vendor operations, QA programs, launch readiness, workflow automation, or AI-assisted operations.
- Experience in customer support or other high-stakes scaled operations.
- Deep expertise in national security, violence, or other severe-harm domains.

## Compensation
- Annual salary: $252,000–$280,000.

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