What is an Operations Manager at OpenAI?

As an Operations Manager at OpenAI, specifically within the User Safety & Risk Operations (USRO) team, you are not just managing processes; you are building the defense systems that allow safe, global AI deployment. This role sits at the critical intersection of product innovation, risk mitigation, and operational scale. You are the architect of the "backbone" that supports safety operations, protecting users from abuse, fraud, and emerging threats across ChatGPT, the API, and platform integrations.

This position is unique because it demands a "systems-first" mindset. You will not simply execute existing playbooks; you will design the infrastructure—workflows, automation, tooling, and data models—that enables OpenAI to scale. You will lead the Ops Enablement & Analytics function, managing a hybrid team responsible for translating complex policy requirements into precise operational logic. Your work directly impacts how quickly the company can respond to new risk vectors and how effectively it can safeguard the ecosystem while maintaining a rapid pace of innovation.

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation for OpenAI is different from typical tech operations roles. The company values individuals who can oscillate between high-level strategy and deep technical execution. You should approach your preparation with a focus on structure, data fluency, and the ability to navigate extreme ambiguity.

Operational Architecture & Systems Design – You will be evaluated on your ability to build scalable systems from scratch. Interviewers want to see how you design workflows, routing logic, and triage systems that can handle exponential growth without breaking. You must demonstrate how you move from manual processes to automation-first solutions.

Data Fluency & Technical Acumen – This role requires more than just reading dashboards; you need to build them. Expect to demonstrate proficiency in SQL, data modeling, and potentially Python. You must show how you use data to identify bottlenecks, forecast capacity, and measure classifier signal strength.

Cross-Functional Leadership – You will operate in a high-stakes environment partnering with Engineering, Product, Policy, and Legal. Evaluation here focuses on your ability to influence without authority, translate policy into product requirements, and manage complex stakeholder expectations during crises.

Mission Alignment & Resilience – Given the focus on Trust & Safety, interviewers assess your resilience in handling sensitive content and your ethical alignment with OpenAI’s mission. They look for "humble, collaborative" leaders who thrive in high-pressure, ambiguous situations.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process for the Operations Manager role is rigorous and designed to test both your speed of thought and your depth of expertise. Candidates often report a process that moves efficiently but demands high energy. It typically begins with a recruiter screen that is notably "rapid-fire." Unlike casual intro calls at other companies, expect targeted questions specific to the job description immediately. You may face questions that seem predictable based on the role, alongside unexpected "tangential" questions designed to test your adaptability and breadth of knowledge.

Following the screen, you will likely have a conversation with the Hiring Manager. This step is often described as more casual but is critical for establishing cultural fit and aligning on the strategic vision of the role. If successful, you will move to a comprehensive interview loop. This loop generally involves meeting with cross-functional leaders, peer team members, and Go-to-Market (GTM) or Engineering leads. The goal is to assess your ability to operate horizontally across the organization.

The philosophy at OpenAI is to find builders, not just maintainers. Throughout the process, expect questions that push you to explain how you built a system, not just that you managed it. The interviewers are looking for evidence of "operational rigor"—the ability to bring structure to chaos.

This timeline illustrates the progression from the initial, fast-paced screen to the in-depth loop. Use the time between the recruiter screen and the loop to deeply review your technical skills (SQL/Analytics) and prepare your behavioral stories, as the intensity ramps up significantly in the final stages.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed, you must prepare for specific evaluation pillars that define the Operations Manager role at OpenAI.

Operational Enablement & Scaling

This is the core of the role. Interviewers need to know you can take a vague problem (e.g., "fraud is increasing in a new market") and build a robust operational response. Strong performance means detailing the end-to-end lifecycle of a workflow: from detection and routing to reviewer action and feedback loops.

Be ready to go over:

• Workflow Design – How you design triage logic and escalation paths for safety incidents.
• Automation Strategy – Identifying opportunities to move from human-review to ML-assisted or fully automated resolutions.
• Vendor Management – How you scale operations using external partners while maintaining strict quality and SLA targets.
• Capacity Planning – Methodologies for forecasting headcount needs based on product usage and risk trends.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through how you would design a routing system for a new type of sensitive content that requires specialized reviewer knowledge."
• "How do you determine when to outsource a workflow versus keeping it in-house?"
• "Describe a time you automated a manual process that resulted in significant efficiency gains."

Analytics & Technical Proficiency

OpenAI expects Operations Managers to be hands-on with data. You cannot rely solely on data scientists; you must be able to pull and analyze your own data to drive decisions.

Be ready to go over:

• KPI Frameworks – Defining success metrics for Trust & Safety (e.g., precision, recall, turnaround time, false positive rates).
• Technical Skills – SQL queries, data visualization, and understanding machine learning classifier feedback loops.
• Root Cause Analysis – Using data to diagnose why a specific metric (like reviewer quality) is degrading.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How would you measure the success of a new safety policy rollout?"
• "If false positives spike by 20% overnight, how do you investigate the root cause?"
• "Describe a complex dashboard you built. What data sources did you use and what decisions did it enable?"

Stakeholder Management & Communication

You will sit between Policy (who writes the rules) and Engineering (who builds the tools). You must demonstrate the ability to translate between these groups.

Be ready to go over:

• Translation of Requirements – Turning a nuanced policy document into binary operational rules for reviewers.
• Influence – Convincing Product or Engineering teams to prioritize internal tooling features over user-facing features.
• Crisis Communication – Managing communication flow during a high-visibility safety incident.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Engineering says the tooling feature you need is de-prioritized for Q3. How do you handle this?"
• "A new policy is vague and causing reviewer confusion. How do you resolve this with the Policy team?"

Key Responsibilities

As an Operations Manager in Ops Enablement & Analytics, your day-to-day work is a blend of strategic planning and tactical firefighting. You are responsible for the "operational health" of the safety ecosystem. This involves designing and maintaining the SOPs, reviewer guidelines, and QA frameworks that internal teams and vendors use globally. You ensure that when a user flags content or a classifier detects a threat, the system knows exactly where to route that signal and how to resolve it.

Collaboration is a massive part of your role. You will partner with Vendor Operations to manage forecasting and ensure external teams meet quality targets. Simultaneously, you work with Product and Engineering to evolve internal tooling—improving labeling workflows and case management interfaces. You are also the primary owner of operational insights; you will analyze trends in abuse or fraud and communicate these "signals" back to Policy and Research to help improve the underlying AI models.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

OpenAI hires for a specific profile in this role: highly experienced, technically fluent, and operationally rigorous.

• Must-have skills – You generally need 8+ years of experience in Trust & Safety, Risk Operations, or a similar high-stakes domain, with at least 5+ years of people management. You must have a proven track record of designing systems (workflows, tooling, automations) in a high-growth environment.
• Technical skills – Strong analytical fluency is non-negotiable. You should be comfortable with SQL and data modeling. Familiarity with Python and ML/classifier development processes is highly valued and often separates top candidates.
• Soft skills – You must be a "systems thinker" who simplifies complexity. Communication must be structured and clear. The culture demands humility and a collaborative approach; "ego" is a red flag.
• Nice-to-have skills – Experience specifically with large language models (LLMs) or generative AI safety is a plus, but deep experience in scaled content moderation or fraud operations is the primary baseline.

Common Interview Questions

The following questions are representative of what you might face. They are drawn from candidate data and the specific requirements of the role. Note that OpenAI interviewers often drill down into your answers, so avoid surface-level responses.

Operational Strategy & Systems

• "How do you design a quality assurance (QA) framework for a subjective policy area like 'hate speech'?"
• "We are launching a new feature that carries high abuse risk. Walk me through your operational readiness plan."
• "How do you balance speed vs. accuracy in a safety review process?"
• "Describe a time you had to redesign a broken process while the plane was still flying."

Data & Technical

• "What metrics would you look at to determine if a vendor team is underperforming?"
• "How do you assess the 'signal strength' of a new classifier?"
• "Explain a complex data model you created to forecast operational volume."
• "If you have limited engineering resources, how do you prioritize which tooling bugs to fix first?"

Behavioral & Leadership

• "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a Product Manager about a launch timeline due to safety concerns."
• "How do you keep your team motivated when reviewing disturbing or sensitive content?"
• "Describe a situation where you had to make a high-stakes decision with incomplete data."
• "How do you handle a team member who is operationally strong but struggles with cross-functional collaboration?"

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How technical does the interview process get? Expect to demonstrate real competency. While you may not be asked to write production code, you should be able to write complex SQL queries on a whiteboard or explain data structures. You must be able to speak the language of engineers and data scientists fluently.

Q: What is the work culture like for this team? The culture is described as "intense but collaborative." The pace is fast, and the standards are incredibly high. However, ratings for career growth and compensation are exceptional. It is a place for people who want to do the best work of their lives in a rapidly evolving field.

Q: Is this role remote? No. The role is based in San Francisco, CA and follows a hybrid work model, typically requiring 3 days in the office per week. Relocation assistance is generally offered for new employees.

Q: How should I handle the "rapid-fire" nature of the recruiter screen? Be concise. Do not ramble. Have your "elevator pitch" for your experience and your "why OpenAI" answer polished. Listen carefully to the specific phrasing of the question and answer exactly what is asked.

Other General Tips

Prepare for the "Tangential" Question: Candidates have reported receiving questions during screens that seem unrelated to the core role (e.g., abstract problem solving or estimation questions). These are designed to test how you think on your feet. Don't panic; break the problem down logically and talk through your thought process.

Know the Product Risks: deeply understand how ChatGPT and the API can be abused (e.g., jailbreaks, prompt injection, misinformation). Come to the interview with a perspective on these risks and ideas on how to operationally mitigate them.

Emphasize "Automation-First": In every answer regarding scaling, prioritize technology over headcount. OpenAI wants to solve problems with code and models, using humans only where absolutely necessary (e.g., for generating training data or handling edge cases).

Summary & Next Steps

The Operations Manager role at OpenAI is one of the most impactful operational positions in the tech industry today. You are not just keeping the lights on; you are helping to align superintelligence with human intent. The work you do in defining workflows, managing risk, and enabling analytics will directly influence the safety and utility of products used by millions.

To succeed, focus your preparation on systems design and data analytics. Review your SQL, practice articulating complex operational architectures, and prepare stories that highlight your ability to lead through ambiguity. Be ready to prove that you can build the machine, not just drive it. The process is demanding, but it is designed to identify those who are ready to shape the future of AI safety.

The compensation for this role is highly competitive, reflecting the seniority and specialized skill set required. The base salary is significant, but the equity component at OpenAI can be a major driver of total compensation. Ensure you understand the vesting schedule and how the equity is structured, as this is a key part of the value proposition.

For more detailed interview insights and resources, explore Dataford. Good luck—your preparation will make the difference.