Partnerships Deal Lead - Search, Commerce

OpenAI OpenAI · AI Frontier · San Francisco, CA · Product Partnerships

This role is for a Partnerships Deal Lead focused on Search and Commerce products at OpenAI. The individual will identify, structure, and close strategic partnerships, manage complex commercial agreements, and drive end-to-end deal execution. The role requires strong cross-functional collaboration, strategic judgment, and experience in business development or product partnerships within the technology industry.

What you'd actually do

  1. Drive Search and Commerce deals: Identify, prioritize, and advance partnership opportunities across distribution, content, commerce, and data partners, working closely with product, engineering, research, sales, finance, legal, and marketing.
  2. Lead complex commercial structures: Structure and negotiate partnership agreements spanning product integrations, distribution, content access, commerce enablement, and customized commercial frameworks, managing the full lifecycle from sourcing and diligence through signing.
  3. Drive end-to-end deal execution: Own partner coordination, internal approvals, open items, and decision-making workstreams to move partnerships efficiently from thesis through close and launch.
  4. Shape joint product and go-to-market strategy: Collaborate closely with internal stakeholders to define scope, align incentives, navigate tradeoffs, and translate partnership ideas into executable launches.
  5. Operate as a cross-functional driver: Coordinate internal teams and external partners to launch priority partnerships end-to-end, unblock dependencies, and ensure strong execution post-signature.

Skills

Required

  • 6+ years of experience in business development, product partnerships, corporate development, consulting, investment banking, or product within the technology industry.
  • Strong experience structuring and negotiating complex deals that span product integrations, distribution partnerships, commercial frameworks, and long-term expansion paths.
  • Strong cross-functional operator with experience working closely with product, engineering, legal, finance, and sales teams to execute complex initiatives.
  • Experience working on or alongside search, commerce, marketplace, content, or large-scale consumer platforms with a strong understanding of ecosystem, user, and monetization dynamics.
  • Skilled relationship builder with strong strategic judgment and clear, effective communication across senior internal and partner organizations.
  • Self-directed and adaptable, comfortable operating in fast-moving environments with evolving priorities and partial ambiguity.

Nice to have

  • Past experience working at high growth companies preferred.